Roll Along
by Simplexious
Summary: A boy with seemingly no memory wakes up on the streets with nothing but a pair of raggedy old skates and the clothes on his back. With little direction in life and no past to look to he has no choice but to roll along...
1. Welcome to the GG's

"What the hell!" Roboy exclaimed finishing a race around the garage with the noob in an attempt to test his skill. "How'd you beat me? Those skates are trash. They can't even perform a boost dash!"

"I guess it was just luck," The kid said smiling widely. He had short black hair that refused to lay down neatly. He was wearing a long white shirt with blue paint splash designs, a pair of baggy blue jeans, and fingerless gloves he used as brakes in desperate situations. His skates were less than attractive, a pair of scratched black boots with wheels. "My skates weren't always this ugly, they just worn out."

"How long did you have 'em, since birth?" Roboy asked chuckling at his own joke. The kid laughed along with him, it couldn't hurt his chances. "Anyway go see corn about getting' in, noob. Tell him you have my recommendation, but only 'cus you recognize my genius."

"Aight." The kid remarked skating away. He climbed his way out of the open sewer the GG's called a halfpipe and skated awkwardly passed several others who were undoubtedly scrutinizing him, sizing him up. He honestly thought he wasn't fit to be a GG.

All the others were such a close-knit family, held together by their love for skating and the art of graffiti. He was a good skater but as far as graffiti went, he wasn't so talented. Even still if they didn't accept him, he'd have nowhere to go.

He made slowly made his way up the stairs that lead to the garage's second floor. There he saw who he assumed was Corn sitting on the couch next to a blonde haired girl and watching T.V. "Who's the kid riding buckets?" Corn asked. "Is that the pizza guy?" He looked the kid over and upon further inspection realized who it was. "I seen you before. Your that kid that's always ridin' around 99th street. You got serious skill, man." Corn stood up and rolled over to the kid.

"Yeah, I was wonderin' if I could join the GG's. I got Roboy's recommendation and..."

"What!?" Corn interrupted. "Roboy hates all the new kids. How'd you get him to recommend you?"

"I beat him in a race... and he said I 'recognized his genius'."

"So basically you were doin' a whole lot of ass kissin', right?" Corn said pulling his hat down. From what he heard, No one has seen Corn's eyes except for a few special GG's. Maybe he hid his identity on purpose, or for a reason. "I'm just kiddin'. Anyway, as far as I'm concerned your in."

"Hold on Corn." The blond haired girl said getting up from the couch. "Your just gonna let him in without any test of his skill or anything like that?" Corn turned towards the girl in response.

"Roboy already tested him and he passed. Besides, I seen him skate."

"Okay he can skate," Gum said with her hands on her hips. "But can he tag?" This triggered silence from Corn.

"Yeah I can tag," The kid said with a hint of confidence on his breath. "I'm also a good hider."

"Not that kinda tag." Gum placed her hand on her head in frustration. "See Corn? He doesn't even know what tagging is. He's all show and no soul. We don't need people like him in our gang, he'll only hold us down."

"So what if he can't tag, we have enough taggers as it is. What we lack is skaters with actual skill. He's exactly what we need." Gum gave Corn an angry look and sat back down on the couch.

"Fine, you do whatever you want." Gum spat. She then turned towards the new kid and looked him up and down taking note of his raggedy skates. She marveled at the fact that he could beat Roboy with those old school blades on. She even wondered if they were even magnetic. "Why don't you put those pockets to use and carry our cans."

"Well I guess your the official can carrier, Pockets." Corn said patting the noob on the shoulder.

"That's my name?" He asked.

"Unless you got any better ideas, I think it is. Welcome to the GG's, I'll give you a proper rundown of the rules tomorrow, I'm too tired to day. So for now just stay out of everyone's way and you'll be fine."

"Thanks Corn." Pockets said excitedly. He turned around and started to skate off completely oblivious to the fact that the top floor was cracked. He fell off the edge and landed on debris causing him to slip and land on his back. He groped in the pain and regretted not wearing a helmet. He could hear some of the other GG's laughing wildly but he didn't care at the moment.

As he opened his eyes and prepared to get up he found a hand outstretched. Among the group of laughing rudies there was one that actually cared. He grasped the hand and pulled himself up to find the face of a boy with green hair wearing a pair of 3-D glasses. "I was like you once, yo. Don't sweat it though."

"Thanks. Who are you?" Pockets asked dusting himself off and notably neglecting the debris stuck to his skates. Roboy was right, they were trash.

"My name's Yoyo... yo."

"Corn calls me Pockets. He said I'm the official can carrier."

"You know that was a joke, right yo?" Yoyo laughed a little bit at Pockets.

"I... kinda got that feeling." Pockets scratched the back of his neck nervously. "So where do we sleep?"

"Wherever the hell you want, yo. 'cept for the tub, Combo took over that spot."

"Combo?" Pockets asked.

"Yeah, big black dude. You don't wanna challenge him, yo." They shared a small laugh that was interrupted by one of the other GG's barging in.

"Damn you fell hella hard right there. You good?" The guy asked.

"Yea, I'm straight." Pockets said rubbing his back. He looked the guy over. He was black and he wore a tight shirt with some sweatpants and goggles that made him look like spider man. "This isn't Combo is it?" Pockets asked.

"Naw, yo. This is Garam." Yoyo said answering Pockets' question. "He's a little gone in the head, yo."

"What you say about me? You lucky I don't shove yo own foot up yo ass." Garam yelled as a half-hearted threat.

"Chill, yo. It's just an expression that means your bald." Yoyo was lying through his teeth.

"Damn right I'm bald. Bald and proud."

"Aight, I'm goin' to sleep Yoyo." Pockets said turning and preparing to search for a nice spot to sleep. "Corn said he was gonna give me a rundown of the rules tomorrow..."

"Rules!" Garam exclaimed in amusement. "Don't nobody listen to that fool. He been tryin' to establish power over the rest of us since a long time before I got here. Truth is he 'aint no better than anyone else livin' in this trash heap."

"Yeah, well I'll humor him." Pockets remarked with a laugh. He skated off slowly scanning the unoccupied spots for possible spot and managed to find some brown stairs that no one hung around. He undid his skates and laid them on the stairs and used them as a sort of pillow.


	2. Roll with the Punches

Pockets yawned heavily as he lunged back into reality. It had been a while since he actually had a good night's rest. Longer than he could remember. He attempted to look around and discovered that he had a powerful pain in his neck. Nothing good came from sleeping on stairs, or maybe it was the skates.

He stood up in just his socks and did a full 360 scan. It was definitely morning but no one was awake yet, still he could hear the distant sound of skates pressing against metal. He figured it was someone getting some early morning practice in.

Pockets grabbed his worn blades by the heels and picked them up, too lazy to put them on. From there he began to wander aimlessly, taking note of the GG's sprawled out across the garage's floor. He didn't want to step on anyone. He began walking up the stairs, curious to see if Corn was awake, and before he could fully ascend he heard a voice that he recognized as DJ Professor K. He had heard of him recently but not much at that.

When he finally pulled his half-limp body up the stairs he could see that Corn was awake. "'sup Corn." Pockets said sniffling, still half asleep. Corn said nothing to him and reached over the side of the couch he was sitting on. He retrieved a small notepad and tossed it at Pockets who clumsily caught it. Pockets eyed the notepad, there were letters written hastily on it and to make it worse they were hardly legible. "What's this?" He asked.

"A shopping list." Corn replied turning his attention back towards the radio. "If you wanna live here, you gotta carry your weight." Pockets still had a few questions but Corn was obviously absorbed in what DJ Professor K had to say. He tuned in and waited for him to finish.

"_...Just recently,"_ The DJ continued with a quiet, whisper-like voice. _"A group of rudies were spotted over in Kibogaoka Hill and not the usual variety. These kids wore flaming red skates and apparently call themselves the Hell Blazers . Not too long ago, Poison Jam claimed that area and now it seems that this new gang is steppin' in on their turf. And I don't think our fiendish friends take too kindly to visitors. Cover yo eyes kiddies 'cus it's about to get nasty..." _

The DJ finished up his broadcast and started playing music over the radio. "What was that about?" Pockets asked.

"You never heard of Jet Set Radio?" Corn asked giving Pockets a strange look.

"Well yeah, but I don't remember much about it... I don't remember much about anything." Pockets stared at Corn who had a confused look on his face.

"What do you mean you don't remember much about anything?" Corn asked raising an eyebrow skeptically.

"Nevermind," Pockets responded. He dropped his skates to the ground and shoved one foot inside them. "Where the hell am I supposed to get this stuff, anyway?" He asked looking over the notepad. The list requested that he get two sticks of deodorant, four liters of soda, a box of pizza, and two bags of skizzles.

Corn reached into his pocket pulling out a couple of dollars with Rokkaku Gouji's face still printed on them. He pinned them together with a rubber band and tossed them to Pockets. "Try the mall on Dogenzaka Hill. Just head out that way." Corn pointed at an exit from the garage. "And watch out for those Golden Rhino fools."

"Yeah," Pockets replied flatly while strapping up his second skate. He picked up the money and pushed himself upright. Without another word he skated away, leaping off the platform and heading for the exit.

_**...**_

Pockets rolled up to the entrance of the mall and slid to a stop, noticing a sign that said "NO SKATING" in bold red letters. He ignored it and passed inside anyway, strolling at a controlled speed to keep from attracting too much attention.

He passed a store called A-mart that he assumed would be selling what he needed. Without much thought he headed inside. He noticed the store was pretty much empty except for a guy off in the corner who looked around his age with fiery red hair. But what stood out were the skates he was wearing, white with red flames creeping up on the heels.

Pockets wanted no part of him and rolled up and down the aisles, quietly patrolling for deodorant and soda. He saw a whole cooler full of two-liter bottles of soda in the back of the store. Slowly rolling over to it he opened it up and removed one bottle of orange soda and one more strawberry soda.

With two bottles of soda under his arm headed back up to the counter picking up two sticks of deodorant on the way. He dropped the stuff off and let the shopkeeper scan the items while he picked up two bags of skizzles from under the counter and added it to the mix.

"eleven dollars and ninety-nine cents," the shopkeeper remarked after finishing scanning the merchandise. He stood with one hand on his hip as he waited for the payment. Pockets reached in his pocket and found that Corn had paid him in only ones.

"Shit, all I got is ten dollars." He said placing the bills on the counter. That's when the redhead kid rolled up and placed an extra two dollars on top of Pockets' money, giving him a smirk. "Good lookin' out," Pockets said taking the stuff. Avoiding eye contact, he started to walk out the store but was stopped before he could leave.

"Wait," The kid called out. Pockets looked back at him to here what he had to say. "Let's walk and talk," He suggested catching up with Pockets and laying an arm on his shoulder. The two of them exited the store and merged into the crowd of shoppers where they were basically hidden. "You part of the GG's?" The kid asked. Pockets pondered on the question for a bit and decided to find out more about this guy before handing him information.

"Who are you?" Pockets asked.

"My name's Flare. I'm a rudie like you," He replied with a devious grin. His icy blue eyes stood in sharp contrast from the rest of his blood red attire. This guy was obviously associated with the Hell Blazers. Even his name pointed in that direction. "So what's your answer, are you a GG or not?"

"I'm not. I'm not in a gang," was Pockets' simple answer. He had hoped that Flare couldn't detect his lie.

"Then how would you like to join ours?" Flare pressured him.

"Yeah, I don't think so." Pockets turned away from Flare and maneuvered deftly through the crowd in an attempt to escape Flare, but it was difficult with his hands full of food and care products. Needless to say, It wasn't working. The red head rudie was on his tail and Pockets knew the only way to get away from him would be to break out in a full on sprint, but doing so would definitely attract too much attention. Instead he turned to face Flare once more. "What!?" He snapped quietly.

"I'm offering you one last chance," Flare continued confidently. "But this time I wanna make you a deal. How does fifty bucks sound?" Flare flashed a stack of bills in front of Pockets face but he just turned away saying, "my answer is the same. I won't join. So why don't you just get the fuck out of my face."

"Alright then," Flare muttered delivering a heavy punch to back of Pockets' head causing him to stumble. The crowd yelped in fear and surprise as the new rudie fell to the floor dropping everything he was holding. His vision was blurred for a moment but he regained his bearings and got back up on his feet. "I hoped it wouldn't come to down to this," Flare spoke, drawing his fists. "But we don't need any new enemies right now."

Pockets brought up his guard. By this time, everyone around them was either captivated in the fight or fleeing in excitement.

Flare swung wildly at Pockets continuously but all his attacks were easily blocked. However he managed to find a hole Pockets' defense and landed a hook to his jaw. Pockets' responded to the attack by kneeing his opponent in the stomach, forcing him to curl up in pain. Taking advantage of the moment, he gave Flare a vicious punch to the face, knocking him off balance but still he wouldn't go down. Flare repositioned himself and made another swing at the dazed rudie, landing on his chest.

Pockets put a balled hand over his paining chest and eyed the Hell Blazer in front of him. He had an evil grimace on his face, suggesting that he intended to finish of his victim. It was at this time that they heard a frantic voice yell, "That's them! Don't let them get away!"

Flare's face turned from one of pure malice to one of worry. "Have fun with the Rhinos," He snickered dashing off in a random direction. Pockets stood there with one hand on his knee and the other trying to massage the pain in his chest. He was having trouble breathing and was temporarily incapable of any kind of movement.

People were scrambling, running for the lives as a group of men in black trench coats and hats that concealed their identities approached the crippled rudie."That ain't one of them," One of them men said. Pockets noticed he was wearing a badge showing the symbol of a rhino against a golden background. These must've been the "Golden Rhino fools" Corn was talking about.

"Yes it is," Another of the men suggested. "Look, he's wearing skates. He's gotta be one of 'em."

"I've never seen him before. We should take him in for questioning," The first demanded once more. The rest of the Golden Rhinos seemed to comply as they approached Pockets cautiously. However the tattered GG refused to give himself up so easily. He darted off limply in a vain attempt to escape the men. They chased after him faithfully but he was able to remain out of reach long enough to escape the mall and get back on the street.

Off in the distance he could see two other GG's headed in his direction. With this reassuring sight he collapsed on the ground as the Golden Rhinos surrounded him.

"Ain't that Pockets!?" Garam asked in surprise as he made a last ditch effort to rescue the new GG. Garam was accompanied by another who wore a blue, long-sleeved shirt with a neck that covered his mouth and goggles on his forehead. His hair was nothing more than three or so orange knots resting atop his head. He was known as Soda

Using the element of surprise to his advantage Garam leveled one of the men and kicked another in the face with his heavy, red skate knocking him out instantly.

Soda socked one of the men in the face and followed it up with a elbow to the jaw. After this he was too dazed to get up. It was now two on two and the Golden Rhinos were starting to get serious. With a knife in one hand and handcuffs in the other they pounced on the GG's with the intent to either kill or capture.

Garam grunted as he pushed the Golden Rhino off of him. The blade had come within inches of his chest. He grabbed the Rhino's hand with the knife in it and wrestled him to the ground. Once he was pinned down, Garam snatched the knife from his hand and tossed it away where the man couldn't reach it.

Soda lifted his left leg and activated the jets in his skate to put extra power behind his kick. When it made contact with the Golden Rhino's stomach he was knocked back a few feet and too winded to get up. He was left clutching his stomach and groping in pain.

Soda slid over to the unconscious GG and asked, "this is Pockets?" Garam finished off his opponent before getting up and joining Soda.

"Yeah, that's him," Garam answered. Soda took a look at Pockets' swollen cheek.

"What happened to him?"

As if waiting for the fight to end, Pockets coughed himself awake realizing he had passed out. Maybe from a lack of oxygen. "Did I pass out?" He asked launching himself upright. He winced as the pain in his chest returned, though it was a little faded.

"Yeah man, you good?" Garam asked out of concern.

"I think so," Pockets answered holding his hands out, asking to be helped up. Both the other GG's grabbed one hand each and pulled him up on his feet which were still not fully awake. After a session of wobbling and rolling back and forth he finally gained his balance. "So why'd you come here? Did Corn know I would screw this up?" Pockets asked dusting off his shirt.

"Huh? We was just on our way to Shibuya terminal," Garam stated watching him wobble a little more. "Can you get to the garage by yourself?"

"Yeah, I think. Don't worry about me, I'll make it." Pockets answered skating around to test his stability.


	3. Spray by Day

_"Listen up people 'cus it's time again for Jet Set Radio Future! With your host, your's truly, DJ Professor K. Now I've heard from quite a few sources that the GG's just got a new addition and check this out, he's already had a run in with the Golden Rhinos. He must have some serious skill if he was able to survive. In other news, the Hell Blazers and Poison Jam have been seen squawbling over in Kibogoaka Hill! I can't even believe I'm saying this but, It seems that they were able to beat Poison Jam out of their territory! I know, right? And now Kibogoaka Hill belongs to those hot-headed rudies. I got nothin' to say but 'Good riddance, Poison Jam'. Ha ha ha ha ha!"_

- - -

Pockets grinded up the handrail on the stair set in the garage and hopped off landing next to Corn who remained on his red couch. The stereos set up all across the garage were blasting _Humming the Baseline_ and just about everyone else was up dancing.

"Where's my food?" Corn asked.

Pockets' pupils dilated. "Uuh, I had it and then... you didn't even give me enough money," he said pinning the blame on Corn.

"Ha ha ha. You right, but you coulda came back with somethin' though" Corn laughed. He tossed Pockets a square device who caught it and briefly examined it.

"I'm getting tired of you throwing shit at me without tellin' me what it is first." Pockets said trying to figure out the device. It was square and it looked like a watch but it didn't display the time or anything like that.

"Whatever..." Corn droned. "It has a radio and an intercom. You can talk to me or any of the other GG's as long as you stay on our frequency."

"Cool." Pockets slid the radio thing over his hand and onto his wrist. "What's the cache?"

"Nothing. Why don't you get to know the other GG's and get outta my hair." Pockets nodded and slid back down the stairs. Once he left, Gum took the chance to criticize Corn.

"Why do you treat him so special, Corn?" Gum asked a little peeved by the ordeal. Corn just tossed his head back in thought.

"I don't see why you hate him so much." Roboy stated in his echoing voice and performing the robotic dance he was programmed to do whenever he heard music. Gum sighed heavily before continuing, as if she knew whatever she had to say next would pain her.

"I don't _hate_ him," she began. "I just think that all of Corn's babysitting is turning him into more of a coward than he already is."

"Really? I actually think he's pretty brave," Corn said still staring at the sky with his hands behind his head. He could tell Gum wasn't buying what he was selling. "You'd understand if you were in his situation." Corn paused as if taking time out to empathize with the new member of the GG's. "I see a lot of myself in him. And if he's anything like me, then there's more to him than he puts out."

There was a long silence as the others attempted to decipher Corn's reasoning and as usual they were unable to find an answer. Roboy took a break from dancing to ask a question that was burning in the heads of both him and Gum.

"What the hell are you talkin' about?"

- - -

Pockets stuffed his hands in his pockets, a habit of his, and strolled over to Yoyo who was holding conversation with some girl with bright blue hair. "'Sup," he greeted. Yoyo turned around and gave him a stupid grin like they had been friends for years.

"Yo," He said in response. "This is Rhyth."

"I'm Pockets."

"I heard of you." She said with a minor laugh. Pockets was confused for a moment. "From Garam."

"Oh." Pockets stated hoping Garam neglected to mention the ass beating he received a few hours earlier. turned his attention to Yoyo. "What were you up to?" Yoyo attempted to recall what he was doing before Pockets showed up.

"Me and Rhyth were thinkin' about going to do a little artwork around 99th street to see if we can get Rapid 99 to come out. Wanna come?" Yoyo snickered at the idea. Pockets thought about it for a moment before saying,

"I'm not gonna be doin' any painting but I'll stick around for the after-party." Pockets smiled knowingly at Yoyo who's mouth pulled back into a grin. If they were successful in bringing Rapid 99 out, Yoyo could finally get his rematch and this time with even teams. Rhyth watched in disgust as Yoyo practically jumped up and down in excitement. He was an expressive guy.

"We should get going then..." Rhyth stated ready to take-off. Pockets stopped her before she could get away.

"Hold up," He said retrieving four spray cans from Yoyo's stash next to the dog house and stuffed two into each pocket. Yeah, they were that big. "How were you going to do graffiti without no cans?"

"Riiight..." She said taking a few cans for herself. Yoyo packed three cans into the sack strapped to his back and now it seemed they were all prepared for their tagging trip.

**…**

Pockets grinded down one of the two dragons entangling Benten Tower followed by Yoyo and Rhyth. They had arrived at the Illustrious 99th street. After dusk it was one big nightlife scene complete with bright lights and lively faces but by day it was just a quiet spot to meet with friends. Most of the people from this district were exclusively nocturnal making it all the more easier to tag unnoticed in the broad daylight.

"Shall we get started?" Yoyo asked impatiently.

"I'm just here for the ride, that's on you." Pockets said attempting to bury his hands in his pants but had to abort because they were filled with cans.

"Let's go!" Rhyth said darting off in some direction. Yoyo decided he wanted to split up to cover more ground and sprinted off in a different direction.

Yoyo dashed by one of 99th street's few daywalkers giving the man a bit of a surprise as he was knocked off to the side by the young rudie. Yoyo figured he'd start at the edge of the district and work his way inward and by nightfall the whole place would be covered in paint. Rapid 99 would have to notice.

Yoyo began his first piece on the side of a store. He decided to start small and began spraying the word "Yoyo" on the wall in green bubble letters with a white trim. He continued a bit further down the street and picked a location for his next work of art. It was a billboard a little lower than most others.

He began painting a mural of a boy on skates with wings flying through a city background that was already provided by the billboard. He artistically put a G on the side of either of the boy's skates so rapid 99 would definitely know that this was the work of the GG's.

In about ten minutes, Yoyo was able to finish and continued headed further inward to the renowned side-streets where all the merchants and dealers would come to sell products. He knew he would have to paint something captivating to attract attention in this part of the district. He started by painting a caricature of himself. He continued by depicting himself with a can in his hand, painting "Jet Set Radio" on the wall in etchy styled graffiti leaving the words intentionally unfinished. Again, he signed "Yoyo" on the side of his depiction of a spray can.

The mural itself took Yoyo almost 45 minutes to complete but once he was done he saw only perfection in his piece of art. It would definitely turn heads but he worried if it would grab Rapid 99's attention. He reasoned that he should make one tag right in the center of it all that would surely get his point across. He ran down to the 99th street plaza grinding stylishly down one of the many handrails purely for the fun of it.

On the stair case parallel to the Benten dragons, he began on his fourth and final piece. In bold, electric letters he sprayed the words "Come out" in purple and light blue: Rapid 99's colors. It was straightforward and to the point, now all there was left to do was find Rhyth and Pockets.

**…**

Pockets rolled up and down 99th street taking in the sights and tricking off of rails and ramps as he passed them by. As far as his memory went this _was_ his birthplace and as quiet as it was kept, he and Rapid 99 had somewhat of a truce going on. He stayed out of their way and they stayed out of his but that didn't matter anymore, he was a GG now. He tossed these thoughts aside and decided to turn on his portable radio/watch thing Corn gave him and listened to _Sweet Soul Brother_ on Jet Set Radio Future.

The sun was sinking below the horizon and nightfall wasn't far away. It was almost show time and Pockets had been itching for a chance to redeem himself since he was last beaten by that Hell Blazer named Flare. His spray cans were burning a hole in his pockets, he hoped he'd get a chance to play a game of tagger's tag with Rapid 99. He was good at tag... he was also a good hider.

It was starting to get dark and the nightcrawlers were emerging from their dwellings when he spotted Yoyo and Rhyth making their way towards him in the pond beneath Benten Tower. He noticed Yoyo was a little out of breath but still as excited as ever. He stopped to take in some oxygen."

"Yoyo, you're out of breath." Rhyth sighed. "You really should cover your mouth when you paint and stop breathing in those fumes." She sounded really worried about him, hinting to Pockets that she was more than just a friend to him. He laughed at Yoyo half in amusement and half in envy. Yoyo tried to gently push her aside but she clung onto him in an attempt to keep him from falling over in exhaustion.

"You seen my tags, yo?" he asked.

"yeah, I been around 99th street about 99 times. I seen Rhyth's tags too." Pockets stated looking up at the darkening sky. Yoyo could tell what he was thinking and gave way to a smile that was bound to come out at one point. "It's been one hell of a day." Pockets said ambivalently.

"It's not over yet." He said reading Pockets' mind. Neon signs began to light up bringing 99th street to life. The lights in the Dragon's flames signaled to all the residents it was time to cast aside the sunglasses and come out for the attractions that made 99th street the famous place it was. And no sooner did the Queens of it all show their faces. Here to host the party was Rapid 99 who positioned themselves atop of Benten Tower, undoubtedly taking notice of the paint that stained the walls of their kingdom.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Review please, it makes writing that much easier. :)


	4. Play on Words

"_The station that gives the birds and bees a little somethin' to talk about, Jet Set Radio Future! I'm broadcastin' live from my studio straight to yo ear canals, bringing you the latest news and rumors on the streets._

_It seems that the GG's have intentionally picked a fight with those fishnetted females from 99th street, Rapid 99. 'Why?' you may ask. Who knows? That Yoyo is one crazy dude, ha ha ha ha ha! And on top of that Yoyo has showed up with none other than the GG's new recruit, a mysterious guy who goes by the name of Pockets. Reports tell me that the rookie used to hang out on 99th street before being picked up by everyone's favorite street team. Will his home court advantage carry the GGs to a victory? Or will Rapid 99 succeed in defending their turf? Only time can tell, my subjects."_

- - -

Rapid 99 spiraled down the back of the Benten Dragon in a single file line, spearheaded by the tallest of the three. They leaped off of the dragon landing in front of the three dancing GGs who acted as if they hadn't even noticed them. "You did this!" Their leader exclaimed pointing towards Yoyo's "Come out" tag. He acknowledged it as his work, angering the leader who most rudies came to know as Rapid.

"We just wanted to play a game, yo." Yoyo laughed. Rapid humored him.

"What kind of game?"

"Tagger's tag." Pockets answered deciding to toss in a little wager. "If we win, you give up 99th street to the GGs"

"Hmph," Rapid grunted. "And when _we_ win?"

"_If_ you win, then we'll never show our faces around here again." Rapid consulted with the other members of Rapid 99 for a short while before turning back towards her challengers. There was a long and dramatic pause as the GGs stood there with confident looks on their faces, awaiting Rapid's answer.

"We'll do it." She answered. A grin crept up on Yoyo's face. He had confidence in his teammates. Pockets withdrew two spray cans, tossing one to both Yoyo and Rhyth and keeping two for himself. Already familiar with the rules, Rapid 99 skated off to the other side of the plaza. The GGs positioned themselves in their corner facing Rapid 99.

Rule number 1: The two teams must start at least 10 yards from each other.

"Bait and Spray." Yoyo uttered under his breath. Pockets assumed this was some form of technique used by the GGs to win tagger's tag. Clutching a spray can in each hand he dug one skate into the concrete, ready for take off.

Rule number 2: As soon as the first person moves, the game begins.

Rapid 99 made the starting move, blitzing the GG's. Pockets observed that Yoyo and Rhyth weren't moving. He assumed this was part of the game plan. _'Bait and Spray'_ he reminded himself. Rapid 99 was getting closer and closer. Yoyo and Rhyth made a last minute dodge, leaving Pockets as their main target. He sprinted off in an attempt to escape the girls but it was hardly working. With outstretched cans they chased the rudie.

Rule number 3: Spray the opponents until they are stained with paint.

It was at this time that Pockets realized he was the bait. He jumped up on an electric wire and grinded his way around 99th street with Rapid 99 trailing his every move. Fortunately Yoyo and Rhyth were secretly weaving tags on the backs of Rapid 99 while they pursued him, tagging one of the three girls out of the game. She was forced to sit the rest of the game out.

Pockets made a quick and sudden jump off the rail performing an LK180. He skated backwards through the crowd ready to spray the next girl on skates he saw. For some reason he couldn't see Rapid 99 approaching him. They had most likely gotten into a tangle with Yoyo and Rhyth. He looked back towards Benten Square to see that Yoyo and Rhyth were now the ones being chased. Pockets caught up with Rapid 99 with the intention to finish up what Rhyth started. With two spray cans in hand he began closing the gap between him and the opposing rudie.

As he approached her, she sensed him coming and cut back in an attempt to dodge him but instead she wound up getting plowed over. Pockets bent down and sprayed red paint on her chest, taking yet another victim out of the game. "You're it." He said with a cocky smile before getting up and speeding off, looking for Rapid 99's last remaining member: Rapid.

- - -

It was two on one. Rapid had baited Yoyo and Rhyth into a back alleyway and spun around to face them. It was a stalemate but still in the GG's favor. Rapid was almost shaking with fear. It was at this time that Yoyo's wrist radio hacked into a nearby police officer's frequency, announcing that there was a squad heading towards 99 street to investigate the commotion. "I guess this means it's a draw." Rapid spat. She triggered a boost dash and sped off knocking Rhyth over.

"Come on," Rhyth urged the tattered Yoyo. She grabbed one arm and began pulling him up. "We gotta get outta here."

"What about Pockets, yo? We can't just leave him here." Yoyo got up on his feet and stared into Rhyth's troubled eyes.

"He'll get away, trust me. We have to save ourselves." Yoyo finally complied and sprinted towards the center of 99th street where a group of cops stood waiting for any rudies to show up.

"There they are, get 'em!" One of the cops shouted pointing at the escaping rudies. A few of them aimed their guns at Yoyo and Rhyth while the others proceeded to apprehend them. Yoyo scrambled from side to side avoiding getting shot but at the same time receiving a few rubber bullets to various parts of his body. Real bullets or not, getting shot stung like hell.

Yoyo could see that Rhyth was taking a few shots herself, escaping this time wasn't gonna be so easy. He grabbed her arm and bum-rushed the cops clearing a path through them to the tail of the dragon. With Rhyth right behind him he grinded up the tail and made it onto the highway. They were home free.

_**Meanwhile...**_

Pockets approached the Tower expecting to find Yoyo and Rhyth but instead was greeted by the Rokkaku Police. "Shit," he grunted as one of them spotted him. He was glad, however, that it wasn't the Golden Rhinos. He ducked back behind a building hoping they wouldn't find him. He was wrong. One of the cops dove around the corner, grabbing him around the ankles. Pockets struggled to get him off but he refused to let go.

Another round of cops were approaching quickly, if they were to get their hands on him he was going to jail for sure. He began stomping the ground furiously but the cop hung on. Eventually he resolved to kicking him in the head which drew a favorable response. He was free but the cops still had him in their sights. It was a hot pursuit.

He flew down one of the side-streets, forcing his way through a crowd of party people. He loved how calm the people of Tokyoto were during rudie chases, it was a routine thing for them.

The cops were slowed down by the crowd and this pissed them off, they shot at the rudie relentlessly. Pockets could feel the sting of rubber bullets pelting his skin. A few more and he would have to go down. He cut into an alleyway and continued down it until he reached a heartbreaking dead-end. He turned around ready to face the police but he didn't have much fight left in him.

To his surprise he could hear the police yelping in pain and surprise. He wondered what was going on and came out of the alley to find the cops all sprawled out on the ground around the feet of a female rudie. Pockets subconsciously observed her. She had black hair styled into two ponytails and was wearing an open, blue short-sleeved jacket that stopped above her belly button. Underneath she had on a small white tank top that covered up what needed not be shown. Her pants wear a pair of jean capris with a green belt dangling loosely around her hips. Most notably, she was wearing a pair of pink skates that hugged her calfs like tube socks.

"Come on," She offered running further down one of the back street. Pockets accepted without question, following close behind the girl. She lead him through a network of alleys and walkways before finally being let off onto an open street. "This road leads to Shibuya Terminal."

"Why are you helping me?" Pockets asked curiously. The girl thought on the question for a moment.

"Maybe I'll see you again." She smiled and skated off and rounding a corner. Her last statement sounded more like an invitation than an answer to his question. He grabbed his arm in pain as one of the bruises began to sting. He needed to get back to the garage quickly, before the police discovered him. He sped down the designated street sincerely hoping the girl hadn't sent him in the wrong direction. For some reason, he wanted to trust her.

**_…_**

Pockets returned to the garage once again with battle scars marking his body. It seemed like every time he left he came back beaten and battered. But what can one expect when living on the streets.

As he walked over a metal walkway bridging the underground course in the garage he received an immediate and relieved greeting from Yoyo. "Pockets, your alive!" He yelped in excitement, albeit too loud. A few of the GGs were trying to get some sleep in and the ones that weren't seemed to not even notice. Yoyo realized what he had just said was a little morbid and rephrased it. "I mean, my bad for leavin' you..."

"It's alright." Pockets muttered. "I just need to get some sleep." He was bruised and sore from skating all over the place. The route the girl sent him down turned out to be one hell of a trip.

"So you not mad, yo?" Yoyo asked.

"Naw, I'm to tired for that shit." Pockets lied. He couldn't be mad at Yoyo, he was still just a kid.

"Thanks. You're a good friend," Yoyo stated. Pockets smiled a little but he didn't let Yoyo see it, instead he wandered off towards the stairs he slept on the night before. He sat down removing his skates and again used them as a pillow, condoning the pain it probably give his neck in the morning.

This time he couldn't fall asleep right away. Despite being fatigued to the point of exhaustion, he had too much on his mind to fall asleep.


	5. So Close, But So Far

"_Wake up Tokyoooo! Get up, brush yo teeth, take a shower and all that good stuff 'cus it's a new day and that means more Jet Set Radio! And how about those rudies? I'm sure you're all itchin' to hear the outcome of the little battle between Rapid 99 and the GGs. Rest assured that neither of the gangs will be suffering the consequences, it ended in a draw! What!? Somethin' about an interference by the Rokkaku Police. We haven't seen them fools since Hayashi was kicked out the force. Watch your ass rudies, ha ha ha ha!"_

- - -

As the midday sun beams down on the rookie rudie's eyes he finally awakes immediately stretching his neck. To his surprise the pain that he was sure would come was nothing more than a slight nuisance. Maybe he was getting used to sleeping this way. Even still it was far from comfortable.

He got up and stretched out his arms and legs, a few other GGs looked awkwardly at him as if they never seen anyone stretch before. He passed it off and slipped on the raggedy skates, at least some people called them raggedy. He preferred the term "seasoned".

Feeling a bit stiff he gets up and skates around the garage, a little lonely but that's the way he wanted it for now. Sleep had not brought him peace and many thoughts still weighed heavy on his mind. As he made his rounds he was approached by another GG but he didn't notice until she called out to him.

"Hey!" She said. Pockets turned around to meet face to face with a girl wearing a black, long-sleeve shirt and tan colored jeans. Initially bothered by her presence, Pockets gave her a half-hearted greeting.

"'Sup?" he asked in a bored tone. The girl seemed not to mind his attitude.

"My name's Jazz, what's yours?" Pockets was taken by surprise by the friendly gesture. Not many rudies reached out to him but still, she couldn't have picked a worse time. He was wrapped up in mental affairs.

"Pockets." He answered.

"That's a stupid name." Jazz said. He knew she was kidding but still he was offended. It was the only name he had, it was his identity. "I'm joking." She clarified seeing the sudden stern look on his face.

"I know."

"So you wanna race?" The girl asked swaying with the music. Pockets racked his mind for an excuse and found one surprisingly quickly too.

"Sorry but I don't want to push my skates any farther than they can go." It was an earnest attempt to get out of the race and it probably would've worked on someone else, but Jazz persisted.

"Come on, it'll be quick. Just around the garage."

Pockets heaved a sigh and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Fine, I got nothin' better to do."

"Ok, good. We'll go around the outer rim of the garage, starting there," Jazz instructed pointed at the Dogenzaka hill entrance. He followed her finger, which did a full 360 around the garage and stopping right where it started. "Got it?"

Pockets nodded realizing he had censored all her talking. He assumed she was only explaining the boundaries of the race, which he already understood, and so he proceeded to the starting line. Jazz followed up and positioned herself next to him. "Who says go?"

"I do." Jazz said taking a ready stance. Pockets dug his back skate into the ground, expecting Jazz to yell out "GO!" at any moment. She didn't. Instead she gave both of them a fair start, "Ready… Set… GO!" She yelled.

Jazz kicked off the race with a boost dash, leaving Pockets with the trouble of catching up. If anything he didn't want to be labeled as more of a noob than he already was. He sprinted at full speed to get back in the race but Jazz was already rounding into the half-pipe that was dug into the ground. Pockets wallrided the billboard placed next to the half-pipe, reducing the amount of speed loss.

Thanks to this little trick he was right on Jazz's tail. The two of them aired out of the half-pipe and landing bluntly on flat ground. From here Pockets was slowly taking the lead but Jazz was powerless to do anything about it. She was already going top speed. One after another they flew off a ramp, with Pockets in 1st place, and hit another billboard. As he came off, Pockets attempted a Method 360, successfully completing the trick but his skates disagreed with the landing.

As he hit the ground, the front wheel on his left skate popped off sending it's rider tumbling down. Jazz landed next to him kneeling over to see if he was conscious, it was a hard fall. "Are you okay?" She inquired. Pockets responded by rolling over and spreading out on his back.

"Yeah, but I think I lost a wheel," He said, sitting upright. He examined his skate to find that what he predicted was right. Fortunately Jazz already realized this and handed him his wheel. He slid it into place but it wouldn't hold without the bolt that flew out with it.

"I can fix it." Jazz assured scanning the ground for the bolt. Once she found it, she brought it back to the damaged skate, hammering it into place. Pockets got up and stomped around on the skate to make sure the wheel was sturdy.

"It's loose but it'll hold for now." Pockets said.

"Okay, good." Believing that the conversation ended Pockets was about to skate away but Jazz stopped him. "You're pretty fast," She continued. "Have you ever played deathball?"

"No." Pockets began skating away but Jazz just rolled next to him backwards.

"Well you'd probably be good at it. Actually there's a tournament comin' up and I need a teammate. You wanna be my partner?"

"I'll try to remember." Pockets droned. Jazz could sense he wasn't really interested but still she kept pestering him.

"I'll remind you." She said. Pockets couldn't help but compare her persistence to Flare's. As different as they were, they shared that same trait. "I'm serious. It's coming up in three days and the winners get paid 100 dollars each."

At this point Pockets was getting a little annoyed. Jazz wasn't an annoying person, actually he thought she was pretty cool, but this just wasn't the time. "I have a lot on my mind," Pockets explained. "And I'm trying to figure things out, like I said: I'll try to remember."

After this Pockets walked away without giving Jazz enough time to pass another word. The rudie skated slowly towards the exit from the garage that headed out to Rokkaku-Dai Heights.

**_…_**

Pockets hopped out of the sewage pipe that emptied out onto a small park in Rokkaku-Dai Heights. It wasn't the only way in, nor was it the cleanest, but it was the fastest. He took a seat on a bench in the area where the crows gathered. He reclined in his seat and let his mind take it's casual course.

Naturally it wandered towards his past, the main dilemma at the moment. Of course there were other things to worry about like the Golden Rhinos, and the Hell Blazers but he couldn't help but wonder who exactly he was.

At first he didn't mind not having memory. The old saying was true: Ignorance is bliss. He didn't want to know about the family that he left behind, it would only bring him pain. However as he carried on, the more he wanted to know of his background. And so he had two choices: He could either leave his past behind and live free of regret or he could pursue it and risk the chance of being tortured by the guilt of leaving behind his family. He'd been putting the decision off for what seemed like a long time and now he had to answer it.

If he decided to leave the past behind, he would forever be plagued with the curiosity of his own existence. But if he decided to pursue his lost memory, how would he go about doing it? Normally he wouldn't even think twice about searching for his lost memory but he couldn't shake the feeling that he might be someone important. Every time something happened to him that he couldn't explain, he blamed it on the amnesia.

He was at the crossroads, the crossroads that everyone hits at one point in their life. This decision would affect the direction his life went and he knew he couldn't make it alone. He needed help, and not from just anyone, from someone he trusted with his life. From his limited memory he could only think of one person he trusted to that extent. And he didn't even know that person's name.


	6. On the Edge of Tomorrow

"_The station that's got you Humming the Bassline in the shower, you know exactly what you listenin' to fool! This is Jet Set Radio Future! Listen up y'all 'cus I got somethin' to share.  
I've heard, from a reliable source that, the future site of the Rokkaku Expo Stadium was bought by some wealthy man who plans to change the name to The Miyamoto Expo Stadium. And check this out: he's hosting a deathball tournament on the day of the grand opening with none other than I as the announcer. I know, I'm psyched too but you can't help but think it's a trap. Well fear not, 'cus this is private property and Rokkaku can't meddle in private affairs. Time to start practicin' kids, this is your shot at fame and a little bit of fortune."_

- - -

Another sunset on 99th street. Pockets looked down on the city from the highway above as the sun sunk behind the many tall buildings that formed the skyline of the skyscraper district. It was a beautiful sight to behold but it seemed like he was the only one around to ever appreciate it. The people of the Skyscraper District were always so busy and the citizens of 99th street never came out during the day.

Pockets turned on the radio on his wristwatch to listen to some tunes while he waited for darkness to overtake the sky. He didn't have to wait long. It always seemed like the sun moved fastest when it was rising and setting.

The scene was familiar to him. After the sun set, artificial lights illuminated the city and brought life to what seemed to be a lifeless district. More and more people emerged from their dwellings completing the transition from day to night.

"Waiting for someone?" He heard a voice ask. Pockets didn't bother to turn and see who it was, he recognized the voice of the girl who saved him the night before. She joined him in looking out over the city.

"I have a question." Pockets declared staring up at the sky. It was blank. The bright lights made it nearly impossible to see any stars.

"You're wondering why I saved you?" The girl asked.

"Yeah, but that's not my question." Pockets caught himself acting a bit like Corn and turned his eyes back towards 99th street. "I wanted to ask you what it's like to be a runaway." The girl stared at Pockets like he was crazy but he was serious. And so she answered.

"It's not easy, but it's better than the life I had before. I was always coming up with lies to excuse the fact that I was pretty much a failure." Pockets looked over at the girl who's face was now showing negative emotions. He wondered if she would continue. "A few months ago my mother sent me off to college but, as you can see, that's not where I'm at. I didn't have the heart to tell her I never got accepted into college, and so here I am. But I think this life is better for me, I'm glad I left my home behind."

"So you don't regret doing what you did?" Pockets asked. The girl looked him in the eyes causing him to shy away. He looked back towards the city below.

"There are times when I wished I never made the choice I did, but it was already out of my hands when I chose to lie about being accepted to college. There were times when I wanted nothing more than to be with my family again, but those times are gone now. The friends I made out here became my family and the times we shared were precious than anything else to me. They even gave me a new name: Candy." She stopped for a moment. "Why are you asking me this?"

"Because I wanted to know if running away was the right thing to do." Pockets decided not to share the fact that he lost his memory. He would keep that to himself… for now.

"It's hard to tell, you just gotta live with the choices you make." Candy smiled after this sentence giving Pockets his answer. He wouldn't chase his past, nor would he reject it. He would accept the fact that who he was now and who he was before are separate people.

"Thanks." Pockets said.

"No. Thank _you_, it's been a while since I had someone to talk to."

"What about your friends?"

"They're all gone now. They aren't dead but I don't know where they're at. I've been looking for them ever since they disappeared and I won't stop looking until I find them." Pockets admired her ambition, almost to the point of envy. "But for now I'm glad I have a new friend."

"Me too," Pockets said showing Candy a smile. He moved to skate away but she stopped him.

"What's your name?"

"Pockets."

"Will I see you again?" Pockets turned away.

"Yeah, I think you will."


	7. Cloudy Skies

"_Here to keep yo heart pacin' to the bass and yo feet tappin' to the beat, Jet Set Radio! It's Friday and it's time again for the question of the week. This one's from a Mr. Fujishima, let's see what it says:_

_DJ Professor K,  
You're always talking about 'the rudies' but not everyone knows what a rudie is. Could you please explain for some of the listeners who don't know?_

_Now ain't that a hard question to answer. From one point of view the rudies are just a bunch of rocket-powered rollerblading punks with no real homes and attitudes the size of my ex-girlfriend. But from another prospective they're the only soldiers we got in the war against the Rokkaku Group. Bottom line is: they're just tryin' to make a place in a world that waits for no man. So if you see some of our soldiers out on the street, cut them a break."_

- - -

Pockets landed next to Jazz who was sitting at the top of the quarter-pipe in the garage, letting her legs dangle over the edge. "Hey," Pockets greeted her. She didn't answer right away. "Are you mad at me? 'cus I'm sorry for bein' an ass yesterday."

"You weren't being an ass." Jazz stated.

"Yeah, I was. I shouldn't have walked away like that."

"it's alright." Jazz said kicking her legs back and forth, waiting out the awkward silence. Before too long Pockets sat down next to her.

"So, how do you play deathball?" He asked.

"It's kinda like football on skates but instead of playing on a field, you play on a course… It would be easier to just show you but we don't have a ball."

"That's okay, I think I understand." Pockets said laying back. He was still tired, though it was almost noon. Those late night visits were taking a toll on him."Why do you want _me_ to be your teammate. If it's so important why not find someone with more experience? If I go out there, it'll be my first time."

"Not if we practice," Jazz offered.

"But we still don't have a ball. It would probably be better if you found someone else." For a while Jazz didn't respond. Finally she stood up.

"I understand." She said.

"Wait." Pockets commanded sitting upright. "Why did you want me to be your teammate?" It was against his nature to ask a question like this but what could it hurt."

"I thought you could use the money," was her answer. He didn't buy it but it was the only answer he could get, it would have to do. As Jazz finished the sentence, she hopped off the top of the ramp and skated. Pockets sighed and fell back into a laying position.

It was a slow day, but he welcomed it. It wasn't often he had nothing to do and it was relaxing. He slid his hands behind his head and took out the time to just relax.

Watching the clouds was something he rarely got to do and for some reason he felt like he always liked to watch the clouds. Maybe it was one of the few things that carried over from his past, like skating, and it only made him want to know who he was more. But he was now able to control that desire.

Through all the silence he was still unable to hear Yoyo coming until his skates smashed against the ground next to him. "Chillin' yo?" He asked. Pockets rolled his head to face him, Yoyo had a spray can in his hand and was obviously planning on doing something illegal.

"Just trying to make the most of an uneventful day," He responded. Yoyo took a seat next to him, tossing aside his illegal intentions.

"You the only one I know who looks at the clouds, yo."

"So... It's just something I like doing, is something wrong with it?"

"No, I was just sayin'. I do it too sometimes but I thought I was the only one." Yoyo assumed the cloud watching position. Pockets planned to take advantage of this situation to learn more about his friend.

"So what's your story, why are you out here?" He asked Yoyo who didn't seem to mind the question at all. He shared his background without so much as a stutter.

"My real parents abandoned me and I lived with an adoption family. I didn't even know until I was 13, yo. And when I found out was so shocked that I ran away. I loved my parents for taking care of me but that's not the life I wanted to live, I didn't even turn back, yo." Yoyo said the last sentence as if he was proud. He even laughed a little bit. Either he was crazy or he was coping well with leaving his family behind. "What about you, yo. Why are you out here?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Pockets covered up. Yoyo didn't suspect a thing.

"I understand. At first I didn't like talking about my past but eventually you accept it." Pockets absorbed this comment and looked back at the clouds, taking note of one that looked like a key. For some reason it made him think of Candy – Everything made him think of Candy. Currently he had so many questions to answer but she seemed like the kind of person who dances around questions she doesn't feel like answering. "Whatchu thinkin' about, yo?" Yoyo asked referring to the face Pockets made whenever he was in deep thought. It seemed like everyone could read him so easily, he was lucky to keep his amnesia a secret for this long... it had to come out at some point.

"Nothin'..." He answered but just to be safe he offered Yoyo a piece of his mind. "That cloud, it looks like a key."

"I don't see it." Yoyo said squinting behind a pair of red shades. It was pointless to squint since he was wearing shades and the sun was hidden behind the clouds but it's instinct.

"It's there." Pockets pointed to the awkwardly shaped cloud but Yoyo was still unable to make out the shape of a key.

"You trippin' yo. That don't look like a key." After hearing this Pockets realized that the cloud didn't look like a key, it didn't look like anything. He was just hallucinating.

"Wow, you're right. I wonder what made me see a key..." It was just a strange day.

"So booooored..." Yoyo hummed still staring at the clouds. It was a while before anyone said anything else, but eventually Pockets took the responsibility to break the silence.

"So what do you do for fun on days like this?" He asked. Yoyo thought for a minute.

"I was gonna go out and do some sprayin'."

"Besides that..." Pockets mumbled turning his head to the side. Yoyo thought a little harder this time, something he obviously wasn't used to doing but who could blame him. He'd been out o the streets since he was thirteen and most likely hasn't even gone through middle school.

"I sometimes go out and try to find a job but no one wants to hire a rudie, yo. I don't know how some of the other GGs got theirs..."

"Some of the other GGs have jobs!?" Pockets asked turning back towards Yoyo. He guessed it made sense, someone had to bring in money somehow.

"Yeah. Actually most of them do, like Clutch and Corn."

"Corn has a job!?" He couldn't imagine Corn doing any work. He never even seen him get up off that red couch.

"Yep. He's a pizza delivery guy, but he only works on Thursdays and Saturdays." Pockets almost laughed at the irony. "We should go and get some ice cream," Yoyo suggested. It was a little off topic but his stomach growled at the mentioning of pizza. Maybe ice cream would fill him up for a while.

"Sure." Pockets said. "But I don't have any money."

"Me neither, yo." Pockets shot him a confused look.

"Then how the hell are we gonna get ice cream?"

"You'll see, yo." Yoyo said smiling suggestively.


	8. A Walk in the Park

"_The station that's hazardous to the mind, body, and soul, Jet Set Radio Future! Health insurance is highly recommended. Hmmm... something odd is goin' on. The streets have gone quiet. No news of the battle between the Hell Blazers and Poison Jam, The GGs have been actually mindin' their own bussiness, and even the immortals haven't been showing their faces around Pharaoh Park. Could there actually be peace on the streets...? Nah, there can't be peace... I'd be out of a job!"_

- - -

"Welcome to Ice Cream King. How may I help you?" The cashier asked. He looked up from whatever he was doing and locked his eyes on Yoyo. "No... HELL no! I'm not givin' you no more free ice cream, I don't care who you tell..." The red-haired cashier stopped himself, noticing Yoyo brought a friend.

"Oh really," Yoyo said. "If you don't care who I tell, then I guess I'll just start with him." Yoyo pointed to Pockets who was confused by the whole situation. He was focused on the cashier who looked oddly familiar and with a little help from squinting he was able to identify him.

"I seen you at the garage... You're one of the GGs! You're Beat!" He exclaimed, it was hard to recognize him without his goggles and headphones.

Beat's eyes widened and he raised a finger to his lips saying,"SHHHH! Are you trying to get me fired!?" He then turned his angry eyes towards the green haired rudie. "Dammit, Yoyo!"

Yoyo just shrugged and said, "Sorry. I guess he found out on his own, yo."

"Yasuhirooooo!" An irritated voice called out. Beats demeanor darkened.

"This is why I didn't want anyone to know I worked here..." He mumbled as an overweight man wearing an apron with the words "Ice Cream King" on it appeared from a back room. It was the store manager.

"What is going on?" He asked looking over the two rudies. "And what are _they_ doing here?"

"Nothing..." Beat explained in a proper voice. "I was just telling them to leave." Beat shot them an evil look while the manager couldn't see. Yoyo took the hint and grabbed Pockets arm, pulling him out of the store. He could here a lot of yelling going on inside just before the glass door shut behind them.

"What the hell was that about?" Pockets asked skating slowly around on the sidewalk.

"Beat works there and he doesn't want anyone to know, so he gives me free ice cream as long as I don't telly nobody, yo." Yoyo started skating back and forth with Pockets.

"I kinda ruined that deal then, huh?" Pockets suddenly stopped skating, forcing Yoyo to stop too.

"It's aight, yo. Let's just go back to the garage."

- - -

"Have you seen Yoyo, Pots?" Rhyth asked the little gray dog, sitting on top of his dog house. Pots ran out of his home and hopped up on Rhyth's lap. He licked at her hand but even this couldn't cheer her up. Sensing her somber mood, Pots bowed his head as a tender hand rubbed him.

"What's wrong?" A girl wearing all black asked Rhyth. She recognized her as Cube. "You miss Yoyo, huh?"

"How'd you know?" Rhyth asked in response.

"It's pretty obvious. I can see it in your eyes." Cube could always tell what Rhyth was thinking, she was like Rhyth's older sister. "Why don't you just let him know how you feel?"

"I can't." Rhyth said squeezing Pots, albeit a little too hard as the dog whimpered and tried to escape. "He'll probably think I'm too clingy. But ever since him and Pockets met, it's like we never spend time together anymore."

"You shouldn't worry about it so much." As Rhyth's older sister, Cube was obligated to give her advice whenever necessary. Too bad she wasn't so good at it.

"I remember when we used to go up to Kibogaoka Hill," Rhyth said, a nostalgic smile appearing on her face. "Just me and him. And all we would do is talk."

"Isn't that proof enough that he likes you a lot?" Cube asked but it seemed as if Rhyth wasn't even listening. Instead of answering Cube's question, she continued with her story.

"One time, he even called me by my real name." She said letting a single tear slide down her cheek. "And then he hugged me, and for a moment I thought he would never let me go. I wanted to hold him forever but that would've been so selfish."

"It's okay. Someone once told me that if you love something, you have to let it go. That's just the way things are." Cube put a hand on Rhyth's shoulder, catching her attention. "I'm sure he misses you too and after all this he'll appreciate your company more than he ever did before."

"I hope so..." Rhyth hung her head. Cube felt sympathy for her but she offered all she could, It was now up to Rhyth to take her advice. Cube pulled Rhyth into a hug, neglecting the fact that Pots was being crushed in between the two of them.

"He'll come back, that's what yoyos do." Cube said. Rhyth couldn't help but laugh at the corny line but Cube didn't care, she counted it as a success in cheering Rhyth up.

- - -

Pockets and Yoyo were steadily making their way down Chuo street. It was a peaceful day and they planned to keep it that way.

"What do you think Rhyth is doing?" Yoyo asked out of the blue.

"Probably sittin' at the garage worried sick about you." Pockets said in a teasing manner which Yoyo failed to catch on to.

"Don't say that, yo. I'd feel bad if she was..." Yoyo let his voice trail off at the end.

"I was just playin', man." Pockets covered up. As much as he teased him about it, he was pretty jealous that Yoyo had someone who genuinely cared about him.

The silence returned. Yoyo was now plagued with guilt, suddenly realizing how much he had been putting Rhyth off. They hadn't really talked for two days and he worried that she was mad at him. All these thoughts stopped abruptly as Pockets stopped walking. "What's going on?" Yoyo asked as Pockets wheeled quickly around instead of answering his question.

Yoyo turned to see what his friend was staring at. He found it was another rudie, but this was one he had never seen before. This guy had fiery red hair and matching colored attire. "You lied to me." The unidentified rudie spoke, looking directly at Pockets.

"Who are you?" Pockets asked. He didn't want Yoyo thinking they had some kind of connection but the truth was he did know him. It was Flare, the Hell Blazer from a few days ago.

"Don't play innocent in front of your friend." Flare taunted with a sinister smile. "You know exactly who I am."

"Ok, what do you want?" Pockets asked, cutting straight to the point. Flare wasn't exactly the kind of person he liked dealing with.

"I wanted to give you one last offer."

"Go to hell, and take your damn offer with you!" Pockets spat.

"How bout I take you with me instead!"

Flare shot his fist at Pockets who caught it, expecting the attack. He tossed Flare's fist aside and punched him in the face, letting Yoyo tackle him. As they landed on the ground Yoyo pulled a can from his bag and sprayed the pinned rudie's face. "You got that shit in my eyes!" Flare screeched, coughing and squirming on the ground. He managed to wrestle Yoyo off him and wipe the paint off his face.

Both of the GGs charged Flare again but froze in their tracks as they saw him draw a pistol from his belt. He aimed it alternatively between his two enemies keeping them at a distance while he got himself to his feet. "Not so tough now, huh?"

"Wait," Pockets bargained, raising his hands in surrender. He let out a heavy sigh. "...Fine I'll go with you, if you let us live."

"No way, yo!" Yoyo shouted. "You can't..." Pockets silenced him, this was necessary if they were both going to live.

"It's a little too late for that. As I recall you're answer was no." Flare growled. The next few moments seemed to slow down to a fraction of normal speed. Pockets watched in anxiety as Flare's finger slowly squeezed the trigger. His mind turned towards the empty life he lived these last few days. If there was anything he regretted the most, it was that he never let anyone know that he suffered from amnesia.

People say that when you're faced with death your life flashes before your eyes, this was no different. Pockets saw many images of people he probably once knew before he lost his memory. They were meaningless to him, the faces he saw had no backgrounds and struck no feeling. It was a tormenting experience and in between these episodes he could see Yoyo's familiar face staring at him with anguish.

Flare's expression went blank. The evil spark that shined through his icy blue eyes retreated and he lowered the gun saying, "I'm not going to kill you."

Both Yoyo and Pockets were surprised but neither of them let their hands down, neither of them showed they actually feared dying... Until Flare left.

As the Hell Blazer walked away, demoralized, Pockets dropped down on his knees. "I thought you were dead, yo!" Yoyo exclaimed in horror.

"I thought I was too..." Pockets stooped down on all fours, too weak to even stand on his knees. He was relieved that Flare let him live but confused as to why he did. This experience was like a slap to the face for both of them. They suddenly realized they weren't invincible and life could be taken so easily. "I told Candy I'd see her again..." Pockets thought out loud.

"What?" Yoyo asked Pockets, grabbing his arm and pulling him up.

"Nothing," He said, trying to balance on wobbly knees. "There's just something I have to do before tonight is over."

"No." Yoyo urged pulling the limp rudie's arms over his shoulders. "You almost lost your life, yo! How can you be worried about other shit right now."


	9. Over the Rainbow

Yoyo walked into the garage with the, once again, handicapped Pockets slung over his shoulder. The sky seemed to be just as tired as they were, retreating to a relaxed black.

The other GGs were all spread out over the garage pretty much minding their own business when the two of them returned. All except Rhyth. At the sight of the Yoyo, she leaped up from her position and pulled him into a hug. Yoyo dropped Pockets and wrapped his arms around Rhyth.

"I missed you," Rhyth sang, Yoyo said nothing. His silence was enough to speak a thousand words. What those words were, none could tell.

"And all I get is a nice greeting hug from the concrete." Pockets said sarcastically.

"Sorry, yo!" Yoyo exclaimed reaching down to help his fallen friend but Pockets refused his generous offer.

"No I'm fine." He said getting up and dusting off his pants. "I can walk now, don't worry about me." He was still a little shaken from the incident but Yoyo probably was too. He walked away with the intention of letting Yoyo and Rhyth have a little time alone for once. He now realized that their relationship reached a lot deeper than mere friendship.

Pockets took his usual place on the stairs carrying out breathing exercises to calm himself down. It was around this time that he noticed Jazz approaching who noticed his awkward breathing patterns. The queen of bad timing.

"What's wrong?" She asked out of curiosity, even worse she brought a friend. The one Pockets learned was called Boogie.

"I almost died today." He said trying to sound calm. He figured he'd sound weak for being so worked up about death. Most of the other rudies faced death on a daily basis and obviously weren't affected by it much.

However, he received the opposite reaction from Jazz. "Really, what happened?" She asked seating herself in front of Pockets. He could see her friend Boogie wasn't liking this, being excluded from the conversation.

"Almost got shot. It was those Hell Blazers." Pockets spoke, almost boasting now.

"How'd you live?" Jazz asked, Pockets just shrugged and put his hands behind his head.

"The guy who was about to shoot me just decided not to. I saw his face scrunch up and then he walked away. Maybe he just didn't have the heart to kill me." Pockets looked up at the dotted sky, a gesture that was quickly becoming a habit. It was his way of avoiding eye contact. He was already stealing Yoyo from Rhyth, he didn't want Boogie to think he was stealing her friend too.

"C'mon, Jazz. We can't just stay here all night." Boogie said practically grabbing Jazz's arm and pulling her away.

"Ok, bye." She called back to Pockets and skating away. "And stay alive."

That had to be one of the worst things to say at the moment. For a second he had already forgot about his near-death experience. But he wondered where Jazz and her friend could be going at this time of night. This was around the time he usually left to meet Candy but if he left now, he'd be risking getting caught.

He silently watched as Jazz and Boogie headed out towards Dogenzaka Hill. This was good; it meant they'd be almost going in opposite directions. He waited until he could no longer hear the skates pressing against the ground and then he got up from his spot on the stairs.

Some of the GGs were still awake and he realized it was no secret that he usually left around this time every night. He just made sure no one followed him. He climbed up a set of stairs and made his way onto the abandoned highway that ultimately would take him to 99th street.

**_…_**

It wasn't long before he was able to make it to the highway above 99th street. It was routine for him and he even found a few shortcuts during these past few nights. He froze right next to the dragon's tail and sat down.

It helped that no cars ever came through this way. It made the journey easier.

Pockets hated waiting for Candy to show up. She ran by no schedules at all and it couldn't be predicted when she would pop up. It was just something he had to deal with.

But he worried he was late. Usually he came around sunset but it was already night when he arrived. 99th street had started the party without him. Fortunately he didn't have to worry long.

"Hey," Candy said pulling up next to Pockets.

"Hey," He responded letting is feet dangle off of the highway. He was basically gambling with his life but he was supposed to be dead anyway.

"So, why'd you come here?" Candy asked as if she wasn't expecting him. The fact was that she came up here as often as he did, and for the same reasons.

Pockets shrugged at her comment and said,"I donno. I'm still wondering why you saved me that day..."

Candy reached a hand out to him and asked, "Why don't we go and get something to eat."

Pockets was right, she was the kind of person that changes the subject when things get awkward. In any case he didn't care, nothing bad could come of getting something to eat... as long as Candy didn't expect him to be a gentleman and pay for the food.

"Sure," He answered taking her hand and pulling himself up. It seemed like he was always on the receiving end of a helping hand, he wasn't much use to anybody else. For the most part this was true.

The two rudies slid down the back-side of Benten Tower's smaller dragon, placing them in the heart of the mayhem that was 99th street. And it was also home to Rapid 99, he hadn't come inside their turf since the showdown a few days ago. He was constantly watching his back.

"There's a McGreedy's not too far from here. We could get something to eat there." Candy offered. Of course Pockets already knew this, he knew 99th street like the back of his hand, but he simply complied and followed Candy through the groups of pedestrians.

There was no such thing as "traffic" for a rudie. When the people of Tokyoto saw them coming, they cleared a path. No one wanted to have to have to remove a wheel from from their teeth.

In little time at all Candy and Pockets found McGreedy's back behind a few buildings. 99th street was mainly a nocturnal entertainment district. If you were looking for somewhere to get food nearby, you were out of luck.

The two of them rolled into the empty parking lot and stopped. "You can wait outside if you want," Candy offered, seeming to realize he had no money. "Just tell me what you want."

"A cheeseburger and a soda." He said.

Candy nodded and headed inside approaching the counter. There was no line so she made her way up to the front.

"How can I help you today?" The cashier asked her.

"I'd like two cheeseburgers, fries, and a large soda."

The cashier started typing numbers into the register and calculated the grand total. "8.99," She spoke lazily. No one wanted to work the night hours.

Candy prepared the money and handed to her, from there she stood and waited for her order.

A few minutes later, the cashier called her and handed her the bag of food and the drink. She took the stuff and waked outside.

When she exited the store she found Pockets sitting on the edge of the side walk and staring up at the sky. Realizing they had no where better to sit, she took a seat right next to him and handed him the burger and the drink, keeping the fries and one of the cheeseburgers for herself.

Without saying much They began eating their food.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Candy asked.

"I think I made a mistake." Pockets spoke taking another bite out of the cheeseburger. Immediately after he brought the straw to his mouth and drank a bit of the soda.

"What was it?" Candy asked after finishing chewing her food.

"The problem is that I don't know what it was. I don't want to sound weak or anything, but I almost got killed today."

"How? did you fall?" Candy was now too involved to eat anymore.

"I almost got shot by some other rudie." Pockets explained. "But something happened and he let me live."

Candy's eyes went soft for a moment. "Yeah, it's a dangerous life and we all make mistakes. The trick is to learn from your mistakes." She poked his cheek with her finger in an attempt to take his mind off of the moment.

Pockets smiled for a second, then grabbed her finger and held it in it's place. "I... remember hearing that somewhere. It just never made sense before." He could see Candy's eyes return to their sharp and alert state.

"It's not _what_ you say, it's _how_ you say it." She said smiling back at him. It was meant to be a little word of advice but she couldn't be sure if Pockets caught on to it. He had an empty stare going... It was the first time he actually looked into her eyes for over a second.

Candy removed her finger from his cheek and said, "So you're a GG now."

"Oh, yeah. How'd you know?" Pockets let go of her finger and looked at the darkened sky.

"I heard you were hanging around with that Yoyo kid. I don't like the GGs." Candy stated taking a bite of her sandwich.

"Why?"

"Because they're so selfish. I know people like to think that they're the good guys but they're not. They walk around like they're some kind of superheroes. And just because they're the strongest gang at the moment they go around takin' territory without thinkin' about what'll happen to whoever owned it." Candy caught herself getting carried away and she stopped short to calm down.

Pockets just eyed her strangely and said, "...Sounds like you're speaking from personal experience."

Candy just looked down saying, "I am."

For some reason it made Pockets feel a little better. He felt like he wasn't the only one with problems at the moment, and maybe he could finally be of some help to somebody. "Do you wanna tell me about it?" he asked her putting a hand on her shoulder.

"No." She spoke bluntly, removing Pockets' hand from her shoulder. He was a little surprised by this gesture but he could understand her feelings. She didn't want sympathy, she wanted a solution. "But I do wanna tell you this: you shouldn't hang around them. What do you think would've happened to Rapid 99 if the police hadn't stepped into that battle? They would've went down for good and you would've been part of that. The GGs and those Hell Blazers are no different from each other."

Pockets realized that in many ways she was right but he refused to believe that they were the same as the Hell Blazers. The Hell Blazers had no remorse.

"But you're different from them," Candy said. "You care about others, and that's hard to find now."

"Not everyone can be the 'good guy'," Pockets reasoned.

"But _you_ can." Candy replied. Pockets didn't respond, he just looked down silently. "If someone doesn't take a stand, there will be nowhere left for people like you and me to go."

"I have to stand by my friends." Pockets said indignantly and taking a bite of his sandwich.

Candy was disappointed by his answer. Up until now, she thought Pockets was the one friend she had left but he made it quite clear that he placed the GGs above her. She stood up and was about to leave. "You know where to find me," she said skating off before Pockets could respond.

"Thanks for the food!" He called out immediately realizing it was a stupid thing to say. If there was anyone he didn't want to be mad at him, it was Candy. He just had to let her go and watch as she left. He still had no idea why she saved him or why she continued to hang around him afterward but it sounded like he wouldn't figure out now.

All that was left to do was head home, but he could never feel the same about the GGs.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the delay, I was on a trip for a while but I'm back now. Thanks for the reviews guys.


	10. The Grass is Always Greener

"_DJ Professor K is back and better than ever with yet another Jet Set Radio broadcast. Now listen to this:  
Word finally got around that Poison Jam is down and out. The Hell Blazers put every one of them fools in the hospital! I hope they got health insurance, Baby! And now I hear they're coming after the kings of the streets, the GGs. This ain't nothin' to scoff at y'all. It seems like there is actually someone out there strong enough to take the GGs out of commission. I wonder how those rudies are gonna handle this._

- - -

"Wake up, fool!" Garam yelled slapping Soda's face. The sleeping rudie just groaned and turned over. "C'mon man, you can't be goin' to sleep this early. It's only 10 o' clock."

"What the fuck do you want?" Soda spat without opening his eyes.

"Let's do something." Garam suggested kicking Soda lightly to wake him up.

"Go away, I'm trying to sleep. It's fuckin' late..."

"Whatever..." Garam hummed backing away from Soda.

Things were getting pretty boring around the garage for Garam. Everyone was either asleep, trying to sleep, or not there. Only Combo was awake, sitting in the tub probably as bored as was.

Garam approached Combo who had his boombox next to him playing Jet Set Radio. He was just lying awake as if he was waiting for something.

"Combo." Garam greeted. The larger rudie turned his head to see who was speaking to him.

"What up, Garam." Combo said turning his head back to its restful state. Garam slid over next to Combo.

"What you doin'?" He asked.

Combo just folded his hands over his chest and said, "Waitin'." Just as Garam suspected. Combo proceeded to answer Garam's next question before he could ask it. "I heard DJ Professor K say that the Hell Blazers are comin' after us now. I'm stayin' awake just in case they try to hit us tonight."

As if to bring Combo's suspicions to reality, the sound of skates pushing against the ground echoed throughout the garage. It was a loud sound and they were both sure there were a lot of rudies coming. Both Combo and Garam knew what was going on.

"Wake everyone up." Combo commanded Garam, too lazy to get up out of his own little tub. He looked around the garage from his comfortable little spot and found that a few of the GGs were missing: Beat, Jazz, Yoyo, Rhyth, Boogie, and finally Pockets. This put a large dent in their numbers and the upcoming battle probably wouldn't be easy.

Combo hoisted himself out of his tub, silently cursing at his self for refusing to get some exercise lately. "If they wanna fight, then we can fight..." he uttered to no one in particular.

…

Jazz and Boogie sped down Dogenzaka Hill at breakneck speeds in an attempt to be the first to reach a set target in Shibuya Terminal.

Jazz took the lead, sliding in between the cars that were climbing up the hill. To her right, Boogie was straining herself to keep up with Jazz.

"You're not doing to well." Jazz teased. Boogie took note of the comment and poked out her tongue, too winded to speak well. This made Jazz laugh a little.

At the bottom of the hill was a small ramp leading further down, towards the famed Shibuya Terminal. The two competitors squeezed into the tunnel that was hardly wide enough to fit a single car, let alone an entire bus. If one was to come through there both of them would almost surely be ran over. However, they risked it for the sake of the race.

Getting close to Jazz, Boogie made an attempt to knock her off balance by pushing her up against the side of the tunnel. As she grazed the wall, Jazz turned 180 degrees and skated backwards to minimize the amount of speed lost. Angered by Jazz's expertise, Boogie extended her middle finger in her opponent's direction.

Jazz ignored the expression, drawing a spray can and marking a passing car with a line of purple paint. She was having too much fun with this race, she knew she couldn't lose.

In order to show she had a bit of skill too, Boogie hopped on top of the car and rode on top for a second before hopping off.

"Nice one, you just put yourself back a couple feet." Jazz called out, still skating backwards.

"Shut up!" Boogie managed to yell back. With a little aid from a boost dash Boogie was able to recover those lost yards and pass Jazz. She looked back at her opponent who was now running at full speed to catch up. Boogie cruised through the tunnel calmly with the knowledge that she was now in the lead. Just when things were looking up for her, she could see the headlights of a bus at the end of the tunnel.

Shit!" She heard Jazz yell. In preparation the ordeal, the two of them turned their skates sideways and rode flat against the wall.

Boogie could feel the bus coming closer and closer and prepared for impact but none came. She only felt the wind from the passing bus, letting her know it was only an inch away from her skin. After the threat passed, she pulled away from the way and resumed skating normally. To her surprise Jazz had somehow regained the lead.

Jazz shot back a cocky smile as she exited the tunnel in first place. Leaving the other rudie behind, she made her way into the large, open streets of Shibuya Terminal. There were plenty of buses parked around the place but there was one in particular that she was searching for: The one with the 'Superglue' ad on the side.

She located it at the other side of the terminal and made a dash for it. Once she was within jumping distance of it, she put all of her forward momentum into a kick and dug her back wheel into the side of the bus. She stood straight up claiming her spot as the winner.

A few seconds later, Boogie came flying out of nowhere and kicked another dent in the bus, putting her in second place. Bent over in exhaustion she hung her head with disappointment.

"It's alright." Jazz spoke. "At least you didn't come in last. Beat's still way behind."

Boogie just pointed to a spot on the bus where yet another dent was that belonged to neither of them two. "I am last," Boogie said.

"So you mean I'm second!?" Jazz asked in surprise.

"Hey guys!" Beat called out, emerging from the darkness. "What took you so long?"

"How the hell did you get here so fast!?" Jazz yelled at the over-confident rudie. Beat shrugged modestly and turned around.

"That doesn't matter. But look, it's about to start." Beat said pointing to a crowd gathering around a single lamp-lit spot in the terminal. "C'mon let's go," he commanded. The three of them made their way to the lit area in order to find out why so many other people were gathering around it.

…

"It's a beautiful night." Rhyth said staring out over Kibogaoka Hill. Next to her was Yoyo who was also taking joy in the serene view.

"Yeah..." he said. "It's been a while since we came here... together."

Kibogaoka was the ugliest place in all of Tokyoto. The houses were stacked on top of each other in such a raggedy fashion that most residents had to climb a sequence of ladders to make it out of the place. The air was heavy with a thick cloud of smog, making the sky appear to be always an ugly orange. The water that surrounded it was less than appealing, so cluttered with crap it seemed to be a brown color.

But Yoyo and Rhyth were able to see the place for its true beauty. The serenity that emitted from the place was enough to calm the mind. They sat at the top of the hill, side-by-side, and spent a night away from the problems and complications.

Rhyth let head rest on Yoyo's shoulders saying, "It's a full moon tonight. Do you remember the first time we came here?"

Yoyo nodded. "It was a full moon like tonight, but things were different that day."

"Yup," Rhyth sang. "It was the first time we met. And on that same day we were split apart."

"I don't remember being split apart..." Yoyo remarked with a slight laugh.

"I do. It was when you ran away, after that I never saw you again until only recently."

"Oh yea..." Yoyo remembered that was one of his greatest fears when he ran away. He feared he'd never get to see Rhyth again.

"But that was back before I was 'Rhyth'."

"And before I was 'Yoyo'."

"It was just me and you," Rhyth said placing her hands around his.

"Just Rika and Taisuke."

For a while neither of them said anything. They enjoyed the silence; they enjoyed simply being in each other's presence. They're relationship dated back many years but in that time they never fully expressed themselves to the other. There was only one unspoken words that could describe their feelings toward each other.

The moon's reflection shimmered in the waters that stretched onward, further than the eye could see. To them this was a sacred place. It was an almost holy place.

Rhyth finally took her head off of Yoyo's shoulder and looked at him. He soon turned to face her and for a moment they just stared into each other's eyes.

"Taisuke," Rhyth said to Yoyo. He didn't respond, instead he just waited for Rhyth to continue. "I love you..." She spoke in a soft voice, immediately turning red. She could see a surprised look on Yoyo's face showing and she looked downward, wondering if she was moving along too quickly.

Yoyo lifted her head and looked into her eyes for a second before pressing his lips against hers. A few seconds later he pulled away to say, "I love you too, Rika."


	11. Engulfing Flames

"This is it," Beat proclaimed rolling up to the Shibuya Terminal loading zone. The day had finally come...

"Exactly what did you lead us here for?" Boogie asked.

"Look," He said pointing to a few guys in the center of the place. The three of them pushed their way through the crowd of people and made it to the front. From there they could see that a few guys in the center were carrying boxes of explosives.

"Fireworks!?" Jazz spoke in excitement. "I haven't been to a fireworks show since I was a kid!"

"I know," Beat said with a smile. He gave his attention to the guys who were unloading the firecrackers.

In order to start off the show, one of them pulled out a sparkler and set fire to it. He threw it up in the air and it spat sparks in all directions, shining like a star. The crowd of people oooed and awwed at the display while the first actual fire cracker was being prepared for launch.

The second guy kneeled down and stood the firecracker up with the wick facing down. Once it was in position he lit the wick and it slowly burned it's way up to the rocket. The firecracker shot high into the sky, exploding in a flower of blue and green lights.

Immediately after the first was set off, many more followed. Rocket after rocket, they soared into the sky and bursted into a beautiful display of colors and lights.

"Wow!" Beat murmured, the bursts of light reflecting in his tinted goggles. He was a big fan of anything involving fire and explosions. He watched as they prepared to send off a massive amount of firecrackers at the same time

One by one, the guys loaded rockets into a box which was designed to shoot off 10 firecrackers at the same time. After it was full they set fire to the single wick and backed away to witness the event from a safe distance.

A few seconds passed before the firecrackers finally went off, zooming upwards. Soon after, they all exploded simultaneously creating a heart-stopping thud as the sparks bent and warped around each other.

Jazz was so wrapped up in the display that she failed to notice a group of rudies approaching. The rudies flew through the center of the fireworks display catching the attention of everyone, including the GGs who were attending the event.

Jazz could see that all of them were wearing red clothing and if what she heard was true, these were the Hell Blazers. The citizens were thrown into a panic, most of them being trampled by the stampede of rollerbladers.

The three GGs escaped the onslaught and regrouped in the middle of the street where they were safe. They watched as an estimated 15 rudies sped by them.

"They're heading for the Garage!" Beat yelled out pointing in the direction of the GG's hideout.

Jazz looked where Beat was pointing, recognizing it as the secret route back to the Garage. "This isn't good," She spoke under her breath and watching as the Hell Blazers made their way quickly to the hideout. She could see one look back at her and give her a cold grin.

"We gotta chase them!" Boogie directed after the screams of the crowd died down. She was the first to dash off in hot pursuit though it was pretty useless. 15 Hell Blazers could finish off what rudies where at the Garage in the time it would take her to get there. Still she pressed on, followed by Jazz and Beat who were thinking the same thing as her.

…

Back at the garage, Combo had rounded up the entire gang of GGs. They stood in the center of the garage unable to tell where their attackers would be coming from. Everyone in the garage was getting tense from the pressure. It sounded like they were attacking from all different directions.

"There!" Clutch called out, pointing to the Shibuya Terminal entrance. The GGs turned to face the threat, taking battle stances. They were ready for anything at this point but still they were caught off guard by who entered their hideout. It was none other than Boogie, Jazz, and Beat.

"What the hell Combo," Clutch spoke with a tired voice. "We need to put yo paranoid ass to sleep."

All the GGs dropped their defensive as the three missing rudies rolled to a stop and bent over in exhaustion.

"They're not here!?" Boogie remarked in surprise. She scanned the garage but there was not a Hell Blazer in sight.

"No way!" Jazz murmured after evaluating the situation. She knew exactly what was going on. She stood straight up and spun around, keeping alert. "They faked us out!" She screamed at Boogie and Beat.

"Oh shit!" Beat yelped as a few of the Hell Blazers seemed to appear from mid-air. From their positions they delivered devastating kicks to the heads of a few unlucky GGs, instantly taking them out of the battle.

As the GGs stumbled back in amazement a man with reddish-orange hair that resembled fire landed in front of them, introducing himself. "My name is Pyro," He spoke with a cocky tone, "But you may call me the Grim Reaper, because I have come to ensure your death."

As if waiting for their cue, another 10 or 12 Hell Blazers fell from the sky, landing behind their leader. Feeling challenged Corn stepped up in front of his subordinates, and delivered a speech as the leader of the GGs.

"My name is Corn," he began. "I am the leader of the GGs and I can't let you walk in here and speak that bullshit."

They could see Pyro preparing a smart-ass reply but before he could speak it, one with icy blue eyes stepped out in front of him in an almost threatening manner. "Where is Pockets!?" He asked shaking his fist at Corn.

If he was alone, he couldn't pose much threat to Corn but he had about 14 other guys backing him. Behind a face of pure composure, Corn was sweating bullets. "He's not here right now-"

"Bullshit!" Flare interrupted. However, before he could further contest Corn's response he was knocked to the ground by Pyro's elbow.

"Shut up and sit down, Flare!" Pyro commanded and shortly after turned his attention back to the GGs. "Where should I start?" Pyro raised his hand and pointed at the large group of disoriented GGs. "Attack!"

With this order the Hell Blazers all pounced on the GGs in synchronization. The GGs were heavily outnumbered but they were managing quite well. The unlucky victims of the surprise attack, Cube, Garam, and Soda were all laid out on floor.

"Corn!" Gum yelled just before receiving a brutal kick to her shin and falling out on the ground. Corn turned and watched painfully as Gum fell, the fight was over for her. As the leaders of their gangs, only he and Pyro were left out of the madness.

"What the hell are you doing this for!?" Corn yelled at the Hell Blazer's leader.

"What difference does it make? You'll never find out," He responded quickly lifting his leg and swung down at Corn's head.

Acting on impulse, Corn was able to block the attack and push his leg up higher than the hip allowed. Pyro fell backwards to relinquish the pain but this put him at Corns mercy. Instead of pouncing on the fallen rudie, Corn shoved his skate into his stomach.

The pain from the stomp shot through Pyro's body, causing him to spurt and twitch but shortly after he began laughing hysterically. It was almost as if he enjoyed pain. Pyro grabbed Corn's skate and twisted it around, bringing the GG's ankle to it's twisting limits. It was turning into a battle of joint manipulation.

Corn twisted with his ankle to prevent it from breaking but in doing so he had to fall to the ground with his opponent. Corn rolled over and slapped his hand over Pyro's neck, preventing him from breathing. Corn pushed himself up, pressing the entire force of his body's weight on Pyro's neck.

Pyro grabbed desperately at Corn's hands and attempted to removing them from his neck, still laughing while doing so. "Take a look around," Pyro gasped, holding back Corn's death grip. "Even if you kill me now, the GGs are already finished."

Corn took a quick scan for any teammates but they were all lying face-down on the ground. The other Hell-Blazers were kicking and stomping Beat who was probably already unconscious.

"All that's left to do is take the bodies to the Master." Pyro spoke calmly. "I'm sure my subordinates can handle that without me."

"Fuckin' Bastard!" Corn yelled pressing down harder on Pyro's throat. "What 'master'? You're the leader aren't you!?" Pyro just laughed.

"Get him off of me!!" He yelled out with his last breath. The Hell Blazers responded by pulling Corn off their leader and holding him so he couldn't move. Pyro stammered to his feet, rubbing his pained neck. "Get all these mother fuckers to the master." He commanded. With a hint of anger he glared at Corn. "We're taking this one alive."

"Sir, we didn't kill them. We only knocked them out." One of the Hell Blazers explained.

"Shut the fuck up and take the bodies!" Pyro ordered.

One by one, the Hell Blazers started taking up the bodies and slinging them over the soldier. Gum was the last to be picked up. Just before she was taken custody of, Flare called out to one of the inferiors, "Leave that one here!"

Gum started to wake up. Her vision was blurry but it was clear what was going on. She could make out several figures taking away her friends. But just before she could get up and do something, a hand grabbed her chin and turned her face so that she met with a pair of icy blue eyes.

"Tell your friend Pockets he better sleep with one eye open." Flare said with an evil grimace. He tossed Gum's head to the side which was enough to persuade her not to get up. She could only watch as the Hell Blazers walked away with all but four of the GGs in their possession.

* * *

**Authot's Note**: So we've finally reached the turning point and now I shall leave you with a proper cliffhanger: What will become of the GGs? Who is the Hell Blazers' "Master"? Where are Yoyo and Rhyth at a time like this? What will Pockets think when he returns?

Find out next chapter!


	12. Any Port in the Storm

"_This is DJ Professor K bringing you a special edition of Jet Set Radio Future. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it's a cold day in Hell, baby. It seems like the GGs are finally off the streets, handing the title over to the Hell Blazers. This is surprising news, even for me! But their time had to come sooner or later._

_It's pretty pathetic but the Hell Blazers took our favorite gang of street punks out in less than an hour. Even Poison Jam lasted longer than that. Was the GG's existence just a charade from the beginning? Not even I can tell._

_To all you listeners out there. I want you to take a moment out of your lives and share with me a moment of silence. I want you to always hold the memories of the GGs deep in your hearts and souls. The streets are weeping, baby!"_

…

Pockets rolled up to the garage unaware of the events that had just taken place before he had arrived. When he got inside he could see Yoyo and Rhyth tending to Gum on the red sofa. He thought nothing of it, he figured she had gone off and gotten herself hurt. He didn't even care. As far as he could tell, Gum wasn't too fond of him so why should he care any about her?

He wandered over to the familiar stairs he called his bed, intent on finally getting some much needed rest. As he fell back onto the stairs, all he could think of was that so much had happened in these last few days. He never had any time to straighten things out. It seemed like he would finally have some time to himself. Again he was wrong.

"Pockets, yo" Yoyo stammered. He placed himself in front of the worn rudie who immediately noticed the tear marks staining his face. It was obvious he was trying to stay strong but it was plain to see that he had been crying.

"What's goin' on Yoyo?" Pockets asked, sitting upright.

"They're gone, everyone! It was the Hell Blazers. They came in and kidnapped all the others and they left Gum her by herself. She's badly hurt. I don't think she'll be able to skate for months!" Yoyo drabbled on in words that made no sense to Pockets but it was obvious that something was terribly wrong: Yoyo had gone at least 3 sentences without saying 'yo'.

"The Hell Blazers?" Pockets asked. Things slowly began to sink in as he took a little time to think. Suddenly his pupils dilated after he realized the intensity of the situation. "Wait, they have Jazz!?"

"The got everybody." Yoyo said in a distraught voice. "Except for me, you, Rhyth, and Gum. We're all that's left."

Pockets could feel a 2 ton weight drop on his shoulder. He knew that after what happened he would be blamed since he was the first to come into contact with the Hell Blazers.

"Gum said she has something to say to you." Yoyo spoke again.

Pockets looked at him with wary eyes and said, "Okay..." He then got up and followed Yoyo as he pulled his lazy body up the stairs to the second floor of the garage. There was a limp and battered body of another rudie. It was Gum. "Are you okay?" He asked apprehensively. Gum didn't respond.

"She's asleep," Yoyo clarified. "I'll wake her."

Rhyth noticed Yoyo come up to Gum and knew he had Pockets with him. She turned to see a face that seemed to be matured by some recent events. "Pockets, thank God you're here." She said, feeling relieved that she and Yoyo weren't the only ones left.

"Yeah, I just wish I woulda got here sooner." Pockets answered responsibly. He kneeled down by the body along with Yoyo and Rhyth who were at work waking the unconscious girl. Yoyo shook Gum's face lightly and removed her helmet.

Pockets couldn't help but blush. Even though he didn't like her much, the fact remained that she was really beautiful without her helmet on.

Finally Gum opened her eyes to find the group of three kneeling over her. She coughed a bit, discovering a pain in her ribs but the first thing she could think about was what had become of the others. "What's happening?" She asked in a hushed tone.

"You're hurt." Rhyth diagnosed. "You don't need to be moving."

Gum looked around and noticed a face she hadn't seen in a while. She recognized who it was. "Pockets?"

"I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner." Pockets apologized whole-heartedly. "I feel like this is my fault."

"You're just a noob, you wouldn't of been much help." Gum said quietly but it was still possible to sense a little anger in her voice. "And just for the record, it is your fault."

He expected something like this from Gum but it still hurt a little, coming from the one who pretty much gave him his name. However, he sucked it up and tried to stay positive with her. She was injured pretty badly.

"How can pin the blame on Pockets, yo?" Yoyo asked, assuming the role of the 'bad cop'.

Gum turned her head slightly to face Yoyo and said, "One of the Hell Blazers told me this: 'Tell Pockets he better sleep with one eye open'. I bet that if he didn't come along, they wouldn't have attacked us..."

"Gum, how can you say that?" Rhyth asked in an innocent voice.

"Think about it, because of him we all lost some very important people to us. I'm sorry but I can never forgive him." Gum started coughing a bit. It seemed she got a little too worked up and excited a few of her wounds.

On the other hand, Pockets was hurt deeply but he refused to show it. No matter what he couldn't be mad at Gum because what she said was true. Ever since he arrived, he had been nothing but a burden to the others. While all the other GGs were fighting to defend what they worked so hard to gain, he was out eating fast food with Candy.

"She's right." Pockets spoke in a solemn tone. "I don't deserve your forgiveness." He stood up, letting his head hang in shame. "You three, will be the last GGs. I'm not worthy of that status."

"Pockets," Yoyo murmured reaching out to his friend but he refused to take his hand.

"Don't worry, Yoyo. You guys got along fine without me before, why not now?" Pockets showed Yoyo a strong smile but he was weeping behind the cheerful expression.

"Don't go, Pockets." Rhyth pleaded but he would take no further explanations. The rudie simply turned his back on his friends.

Pockets skated away in no particular direction with a single tear sliding down his face. He thought he was being strong by accepting his failure and bearing the consequence but in reality he was being a coward. All he was really doing was running away again, trying to wipe the slate clean and leave the past behind him. But this was impossible, he could never forget the GGs. He could never forget Yoyo, Corn, Jazz, Rhyth, and even Gum. He just couldn't do it.

Pockets waved a final goodbye to his former friends and, without looking back, hopped up onto the highway that lead him to where it all began. As he left the garage he felt as though he would regret running away but it was something he had to do. His mind was telling him to leave everything behind, his heart told him to go back, but his legs just kept pushing him forward.

The feeling of being a stranger in his own body returned. At this moment he had no control over himself. He felt so helpless, but this is what it took to be free. Every rudie was familiar with this feeling but this was something Pockets didn't realize until it was too late...

Too late to turn back.

…

Pockets stopped at the usual spot and sat down on the freeway but Candy probably didn't expect him to return twice in the same night. Still he waited, patiently staring out over the busy city. Again he felt alone in the world but he realized that he was never truly alone.

Since before he could remember, Candy was always looking over his shoulder trying to make sure he was alright. But why? At this point he was in no position to question, he just wished she could be there right then. But she couldn't.

He was stubborn, and didn't want to give up his old friends to be with her but he had no choice but to leave them behind now. He wished that he would've just took her up on her offer. Maybe she was feeling the same as he was. She told him that all her friends were gone a while ago but she didn't know what was truly going on with him. No one knew he actually had no memory.

Even in deep thought, he was able to feel something wet drop on the top of his head. He rubbed his hair and looked at his hand which was wet with a clear fluid, water. He looked up and watched as clouds pulled in, blocking off the full moon. He could tell it was about to rain.

Before long the sky was dumping loads of water down on 99th street. It was as if the streets were weeping. Pockets was soaking wet before long and figured that he would probably have to sleep out on these streets. He had nowhere else to go. And so he curled up on the highway and tried his hardest to drift off into blissful slumber.

It was a little while after he had fell asleep that a familiar person approached him, questioning why he would sleep out on the streets in the rain.

"You're so crazy," Candy said to the sleeping Pockets. She kneeled down next to him and took off her jacket, placing it over to his soaked T-shirt. The jacket was too small to be of much help but it was all she had. However, now she was reduced to the small tank-top she wore and would probably catch hypothermia in this weather. It was a risk she was willing to take.

"You're lucky I like you," she murmured resting her head on his chest.


	13. Skyline

Pockets awoke cold and damp with rainwater. He absorbed every bit of warmth he could draw from the sun's heat, simply happy to be alive after such a foolish mistake. It had just turned spring a short while ago so the nights in Tokyoto were still brutally cold.

As he tried to sit up he found the reason for his survival: Candy had given him her jacket in order to keep him alive but, further than that, she was sleeping outside with him. Did she have no place to go either?

The girl's head rolled off his chest as he sat up, forcing her to open her eyes. Pockets just stared at her in confusion while she yawned herself awake.

"Candy, what are you doing?" He asked.

"Stretching," She answered as she stood up and arched her back.

"No, why were you sleeping on top of me?" Pockets inquired immediately realizing how unintentionally intimate the statement sounded. He averted his eyes saying, "Not like that..."

"I was saving your life." Candy said, cutting Pockets off before he could carry on with his dirty-minded rambling.

"Again?" Pockets stood up on his skates and wobbled a little, forgetting he had them on. "Thanks, but you didn't have to do this."

"Yes I did," She said picking her jacket up off the floor and shaking the water off. It was pretty much water-proof so it did a good job as a raincoat. "Sleeping in the rain at this time of year can get you killed. If I didn't come along and share body heat with you, it might've been too cold for you to survive."

"I'm fine," Pockets explained rolling around as a sort of warm-up. "Besides I needed a shower anyway."

"No offense but now you just smell like wet concrete." Candy taunted.

"And you smell like watered down perfume." Pockets shot back, making Candy laugh a little.

"...Why were you sleeping out here anyway?" Pockets was hoping she didn't ask this question but she did, and now he had to answer. He braced himself for whatever response he was bound to get.

"I left the GGs," he said making it sound like he did so for her and not because they were pretty much destroyed in a battle with the Hell Blazers.

"I'm glad you did, but I wish you would've told me..." Candy wrapped her arms around him but he didn't hug her back. He couldn't bring himself to, it just felt weird. Eventually she caught on to how he felt and released him, turning a light shade of pink.

"I'm sorry," Pockets apologized as she pulled back.

"It's okay, I just got a little carried away." She explained still a little embarrassed by the situation. Pockets never seen her like this before. He always thought she was the kind of person that never got carried away but instead remained calm and collected.

"So what do we do now?" Pockets asked her, returning the mood to from an awkward one to one they were more familiar with. Pockets turned and looked out over the city, expecting Candy to suggest something a little different.

"I dunno I was thinking we did something actually fun for a change," She said. As he expected from her.

"Like what?"

"I haven't been to the Sky Dinosaurian Square in a while."

"Sky Dinosaurian Square, where's that?" Pockets asked assuming the place was some kind of natural history museum way up in the sky.

"You mean you never went there as a kid? Everyone's gone there at least once!" Candy nearly shouted, amazed that he didn't know where the place was.

"I must not remember then." Pockets said, cleverly keeping his secret unknown. He wondered why he still tried to hide it. Maybe he feared people would pity him if they knew.

"Well anyway, the only way to reach it is on the Tokyo Line so you have to pay to get there but I know a way we can get in free." Candy smiled. It was similar to the smile Yoyo gave him just before the both of them were practically kicked out of an ice cream store by an angry shopkeeper. But knowing Candy, it would be something a little more "adventurous" than that.

…

"Where the hell are you taking me?" Pockets asked following Candy as she ramped off of large satellite dishes and strange structures built on top of buildings that seemed to be designed specifically for rooftop riding. "And where are we?"

"This is the skyscraper district!" Candy yelled back to him, pulling a 360 in the air. "Don't be so stiff, Pockets. Have fun, that's what this is about."

Pockets took her advice and loosened up. There was never time to skate just for the hell of it and he decided he would take advantage of the moment while it lasted.

"How about a race?" He asked Candy, pulling ahead of her and performing a method backflip as he launched off another ramp.

"Fine, first one to the top of that tall building wins the race." She said activating a boost dash to retake the lead.

Pockets was getting tired of being the only one unable to do that. He had to work extra hard just to keep up with most other rudies because of it, but that's what made him so fast.

Candy flipped as she leaped a gap between two buildings intent on discouraging Pockets, it kinda worked. The trailing rudie clumsily cleared the gap, loosing his footing for a moment as he landed. This let Candy get an even larger lead on him.

Determined not to lose Pockets ran as hard as he could, smoothly crossing between rooftops and closing the space between him and Candy. Before long they were side-by-side. Instead of his usual taunting, Pockets remained focused. When the next large jump came up he channeled all his energy and concentration into one trick, performing a mctwist in the air and landing backwards.

Candy gasped in amazement but this wasn't helping him win the race... sometimes he just liked to show off. Maybe Gum was right, maybe he was all show and no soul but that didn't matter anymore. All that mattered right now was this race.

"I don't know how you learned something like that," Candy said to him with a confident smile. "but I still know this place better than you."

Pockets wondered what would make her bring up something like that at this moment but he soon got his answer. With his eyes focused on his opponent he couldn't see that he was headed straight for a wall. With a loud thud, all his forward moment slammed him into the side of a building.

"Ow." He grunted falling to the ground.

Candy stopped next to him saying, "You should really watch where you're going." She spoke in a falsely concerned voice, making Pockets wonder if she had planned for something like that to happen.

"You could've warned me..." Pockets said rubbing his head as he laid on the ground. Candy smiled.

"But then I wouldn't have been able to win the race," She said speeding off in the direction of the water tower. Pockets cursed to himself for being so stupid but this made him realize how caught up he was in such a simple race. It hardly even mattered who won or lost but for a moment all he could think about was winning.

All he wanted to do was beat Candy at something. She saved his life twice already, he just wanted to prove he wasn't completely useless. It became a battle of pride.

He got back on his feet but all he could do at this point was watch as Candy neared the finish. It would be impossible for him to catch up to her. Still he had to try.

With a powerful push, he accelerated to top speed in little more than three seconds. It was possibly the fastest he ever skated in his life. He bounded the buildings easily now, slowly becoming more familiar with the Skyscraper District's rooftop terrain.

Candy could feel Pockets slowly catching up with her but the finish was just a few more jumps away. She began to get a little nervous and pushed herself harder but she had already reached her limits. As she put her foot down again she felt a sharp pain in her side. It was just a cramp but this was enough to hinder her movement so that she was thrown off balance.

The gap between the two roofs came closer and she feared she wouldn't be able to make it but there wasn't enough time to stop. She jumped as high as she could, ignoring the pain, and for a moment it looked like she could make it... until she started coming down.

One foot landed on the target building but the other was left dangling off. Most of her weight was hanging off the side of the building and if she didn't act quickly she would fall off. With every last ounce of her strength, she attempted to pull herself up but her secured skate rolled off and in only an instant she was hanging by her fingertips. Needless to say she couldn't put up with this for long but just as she thought she was about to fall a hand grabbed her around the wrist.

She looked up to see Pockets struggling to hoist her body up onto the edge.

"Give me a little help..." He requested without loosening his grip even the slightest. Candy pressed he skates against the side of the building and lifted herself up with Pockets' help.

The strained rudie fell back after the ordeal to rest his muscles. Candy was just sitting there, gaping like a fish out of water. She could see Pockets smile.

"I saved your life..." He said in between breaths, feeling like he finally accomplished something. Candy closed her mouth.

"I could've made it up on my own," She frowned but seeing him happy made her smile too. "...But thanks for the help."

Pockets didn't give her a "You're welcome" or a "No problem".

Instead he just said. "So I guess this means I won..."


	14. Melancholy

"_Turn up the volume Tokyo 'cus it's time once again for Jet Set Radio Future with the one and only DJ Professor K! Ever since the GG's left the streets in the hands of the Hell Blazers, time has seemed to stop... No seriously!The big clock in the heart of Shibuya Terminal has frozen at 3:33. Has the government gotten so lazy that they can't perform maintenance on that old thing? Sounds a bit ominous to me._

_In other news, the big deathball tournament at the Miyamoto Expo Stadium is only a day away. With the GGs gone there's no telling who will win. It's finally time for the kings of the streets to hand over the crown."_

…

"How are you doin' Gum?" Yoyo asked the girl, still couch-bound by the incident. From what he could tell, Gum's right leg was fractured if not broken. It would be a good month or two before she could walk again, let alone skate.

"I'm fine... I guess..." She said rolling over and facing away from Yoyo. Yoyo wasn't surprised, this was the way Gum was when she was going through bad times. He kneeled down beside the red couch and sat there with the injured GG, resigning to the empty silence. It was one of the few times the T.V. wasn't on or the Garage wasn't pumping with music. "Where's Rhyth?" Gum asked with her face practically buried in the sofa.

"She's downstairs, yo. She's not doing to well either."

Gum didn't want to here this. "I feel bad," She said. "That she had to get dragged into this all behind that stupid kid Pockets..."

Yoyo said nothing. It was natural to blame him, since he was in fact the reason the Hell Blazers were so interested in the GGs but it wasn't totally his fault. Yoyo just got up and walked downstairs where he found Rhyth hugging herself next to one of the oversized speakers. Yoyo heard her sobbing lightly and sat down next to her.

"It's gonna be okay, yo." He reassured her.

"No it's not." Rhyth spoke in a quivering voice. She sniffled before speaking again. "All that's left of the GGs is you and me and we both know we're the worst on the team. Pockets left when we needed him the most, what the hell are we supposed to do now?"

Yoyo was amazed. It was a rare occurrence for Rhyth to curse, she must've been deeply hurt and what she said was true. It was almost hopeless for the GGs now.

"We don't need 'the GGs'," Yoyo said. "Remember when it was just me and you?"

"It's different now, Taisuke. We're not kids anymore, no one's going to take care of us." Rhyth looked up at Yoyo with tears still streaming down her face. "We're on our own."

"Think about what Pockets is going through, yo." Yoyo said trying to convince people that there were people out there who had it worse than they did, specifically the other GGs. "He has no where to go."

"He's different from us." Rhyth said. "Even though most of the others don't give him credit, he's strong. Ever since that battle with Rapid 99 I realized exactly who he is. From the start, his confidence was spilling out of his ears even though it was his first time playing tagger's tag. If he wasn't there, we probably wouldn't have won. And the fact that he was able to escape the police on his own. Someone like that doesn't need us, we need him."

By now Rhyth was speaking so loudly that even Gum was able to hear them. She felt kind of bad for being so tough on Pockets but it was hard not to see him as a traitor, especially after he left the GGs. But he did so mostly because of her. At this time they needed all the help they could get but thanks to her attitude, they were left without a paddle.

"What are we gonna do now?" Yoyo asked repeating the question. He cycled through ideas in his head but none of them seemed valid. His first thought was to go out and make sure the GGs didn't loose their turf but if he and Rhyth were challenged in the process, they would surely lose. Even showing their faces in public was out of the question. The Hell Blazers could possibly be planning another attack as they spoke.

Gum was suffering a broken leg and they had no money to take her to the hospital, they couldn't even afford food. They had to get money somehow.

"The deathball tournament, yo." Yoyo said, having a 'eureka' moment. Rhyth dried her eyes and gave him a confused look. "I heard Jazz and Pockets talking about it, even DJ Professor K's talkin' about it. I heard they're offerin' 1,000 dollars to the winners and it's bein' held at the old Rokkaku Expo Stadium tomorrow."

"At what time?" Rhyth asked, sobering up. Yoyo shrugged.

"We should just get there as early as we can, yo." He said. Normally it would be nearly impossible for them to win but their only real competition is the other GGs and Poison jam. Since both teams were out, all they had to really worry about was the Hell Blazers, which was a lot to worry about.

"What about Gum?" Rhyth asked quieting down to avoid offending the immobile rudie, "We can't just leave her here by herself."

Yoyo thought for a minute. They couldn't carry her, the distance to the Expo Stadium was too great. They didn't have a car or any means of transportation like that. "Can she limp?" Yoyo asked. Rhyth glared at him, telling him that was the wrong thing to say. "No, I mean if she can limp then we could support her enough so that her leg won't hurt."

"That could work..." Rhyth said.


	15. Black and White

"_Is the mic on? Am I comin' through clear? Can you here me boys and girls? Good 'cause I got another announcement and I don't like being ignored, know what I'm sayin'?_

_It sounds like all the rudies out there are getting' ready for the tournament, all except for a few that is. The mysterious Pockets is still out roamin' the streets! How crazy is that! I thought the Hell Blazers got all the GGs but this kid managed to slip through their fingers. And just to make things even stranger, he's been hangin' out with some other rudie who has yet to be identified. I wonder if the GGs are listenin' to this from their comfy little hospital beds."_

…

Corn sat in his cell, lonely and quiet. After the battle with the Hell Blazers, all of the GGs were taken and put into holding cells. But why would the Hell Blazer's turn them in? Only Corn knew the truth.

He removed his prized hat for the first time in what seemed like years, brushing his hair gently with his hand. He could see into the cells across the hall from him. Each of them held one of the other GGs who were all still laying unconscious from the ordeal.

Corn brushed the hair out of his eyes, sitting on the rock hard bed with his back against the wall. He had to wonder when they would be taken to _real_ jail. It was Saturday so he had pretty much the whole weekend to wait. They typically didn't move prisoners on the weekends.

He wondered how Rhyth and Yoyo were doing. He wondered if Gum was okay. He also wondered if Pockets was the reason behind all this. This was about when he noticed one of the others stirring in their cell. It was Combo, who had probably taken the least damage in the fight.

"Combo?" Corn whispered in a hushed voice. He really couldn't tell if it was him or not, being that it was so dark in the hallway. He reached down, picking up his cone-shaped hat and pulling the brim down over his eyes.

"Yeah, it's me, kid." Combo spoke, staring hopelessly at the ceiling. His large figure seemed to shrink within the walls of the cell. Seeing him in such a depressed state drained the faith out of Corn: the faith in his teammates, the little bit of hope that somehow they would be saved. It was highly illogical, there would be almost nothing a rudie could do to free them.

"I'm sorry man," Corn apologized. He got up and walked towards the bars that held him in, grasping one in each hand and praying for the strength to pull them apart, but he knew God didn't exactly favor him. Not after what he did...

"Naw, it's my fault." Combo said. "I didn't know the Hell Blazers would be that strong. We coulda easily taken 'em if we had prepared, but I went and got all thick-headed, ya know? I knew they were comin' but I didn't tell nobody else 'cus I thought I could take 'em all by myself."

"Damn," Corn mumbled feeling regretful. All kinds of possible responses to this flashed through his head but he couldn't force himself to speak any of them.

"But how did we end up in cells like this?" Combo asked. Corn shook his head but it was too dark for Combo to notice this gesture.

"The Hell Blazer's sold us out."

Combo sat up on his bed, nearly breaking it under his weight. "Why would they go and do a thing like that!?"

"When they were carrying us over here," Corn began as if he was about to tell a long story, "I heard one of them fools say that they wouldn't get the complete reward unless they caught all of us: Yoyo, Rhyth, and Pockets included. They're bounty hunters, yo!"

"That's some strange shit," Combo uttered, taking in what Corn had just said. "And if that's true then who hired them?"

"They weren't hired, from what I heard they been workin' with the Golden Rhinos the whole time. That's their whole reason for existence, they the Golden Rhino's little golden retrievers."

"That would explain why they attacked Poison Jam. They must be goin' after all the rudies." Combo laughed a little, relieving some stress before speaking again. "But what the hell do I care? Don't look like we gonna be gettin' out of here too soon."

Combo laid back down and resumed staring at the ceiling. Corn had nothing left to say, all he could do was hope that the other GGs were better off than they were. But that was unlikely, with the Hell Blazers hunting them down.

Corn retreated to the bed and sat back down on it, reassuming the position he was in earlier. Once again, he removed his hat letting his hair dangle lifelessly from his head. He pulled his feet up on the bed. They were oddly skateless. He couldn't even remember the last time he _walked _anywhere. It felt awkward.

It felt like a part of him had been taken away. He would never again feel the feeling of flying down the street with little regard for anything at all in life. Being a rudie made him careless, he took life for granted and now life had taken his freedom. If only there were some way he could be free again, he would take it no matter the consequences.

He wanted to see Gum at least once more and maybe say goodbye this time. As things were at the moment, he'd never get that opportunity. If he was ever to see her again, it would be through a glass window in the prison's visiting center, but what would be the chances of the authorities letting her visit him?

"Corn?" he heard a voice call his name. He scrambled to the gate to find who was speaking but he couldn't locate where the sound was coming from. "Are you awake?" She asked again.

It was coming from the cell next to his, the one he couldn't see into. It sounded like Jazz's voice but it was so quaky he hardly recognized it. He could only imagine the expression on her face at a time like this.

"Yes, I'm awake." Corn answered. Hearing Jazz's voice only seemed to add to his pain. He wished all of this was a dream and when he awoke, he'd be lying on that familiar red sofa in the garage surrounded by the aroma of stale pizza and spray paint.

Jazz seemed to take reassurance in the fact that she wasn't the only one awake since she asked no more questions after hearing Corn's response.

"Are you okay?" He asked Jazz, sure that she had taken some injuries in the fight. But knowing her, she probably wouldn't admit it if she was hurt.

"I'm fine," She said in a somber voice. "I'm just scared of what will happen to us. If they wanted to kill us, there'd be nothing we could do."

Corn flinched as she said this, he didn't realize it before but the possibility of him being put on death row was actually very high. Maybe not for the other rudies but then, they had never killed anyone.

"There are fates worse than death," Corn spoke, trying to justify his own actions but at the same time letting Jazz know that he much more preferred death to life in jail. He'd much rather be killed than made to suffer endless amounts of torment.


	16. In a Day's Work

Somewhere in the Skyscraper District, two rudies could be seen resting atop one of the many tall buildings. The midday sun burned brightly down on them but they didn't seem to care.

"I think that's enough for today," Candy spoke, breaking the silence that weighed heavily around the two of them.

"No Sky Dinosaur thing?" Pockets asked.

"Not today..."

More silence.

For Pockets, this was perfect. Finally he had a chance to calm himself and get away from all the crazy things that were happening lately but it never lasted long. No matter what. He watched as the clouds passed overhead. Strangely the whole experience reminded him of Yoyo. He half expected the little green-haired kid to be lying right next to him, smiling simply because he had no reason to frown.

Candy looked over and saw Pockets staring emptily at the sky. "Keep starin' at the sun like that and you might go blind," She said playfully.

Pockets raised a hand over his eyes, shielding out the shining sun, but kept on gazing upward.

"You're weird," Candy laughed a little but this drew no response. She glanced over at him. "What are you thinking about?"

Pockets relaxed his facial muscles, realizing he was unintentionally making his 'thinking face' again. "Nothing," He replied.

"C'mon, you can tell me." Candy sat up anxiously and stared at him. But he didn't speak. Not for a while.

"Nothing..." He repeated almost a minute later. He could see Candy wasn't happy about his response but he really didn't care. He didn't feel like sharing his thoughts. That was it.

"You don't have to hide things. I told you everything about my life, why don't you trust me?" She laid comfortably back down knowing full well how stubborn Pockets could be. She didn't expect an answer.

"I trust you." He said. "But it's not a matter of trust."

"Then what is it?"

"You want the truth?" Pockets finally said. For a long time, he'd been planning this. He spent hours each day deciding who would be the first to know but his lips felt heavy. Part of him was still unsure but he didn't know why. He didn't know why he kept it his secret for so long, it seemed like the most logical thing to do would be to tell someone. However, some underlying instinct told him to just shut everyone out and mind his own business. It told him to go on through his life normally but that was impossible.

"That's what I've been waiting for..." Candy said, feeling as though she finally figured him out. Pockets felt like he was holding the "reset button" he had long been searching for and by confiding in her, he was slowly crushing it in his fist.

"I have amnesia..." He said awkwardly. His voice quivered a little but he made no efforts to correct it. He wanted Candy to see how much this troubled him. "And not just the kind that makes you forget things... My whole life... I can't remember." He cleared his throat, nervously. He expected Candy to explode or jump up in shock but she did nothing like that.

She smiled. It was a satisfied smile that reached all the way across her face. It seemed as though she fully understood Pockets, despite the fact that whole chunks of his sentences were missing. "Finally..." She said.

Pockets looked strangely at her, even his eyes were shaking now. "You're... not surprised?" He asked. Candy shook her head slowly.

"I knew the whole time." She spoke confidently, making Pockets all the more nervous. The secret he had guarded with his life had already been discovered.

"Then why..." He spoke softly, lacking the confidence to speak the rest of the sentence. Fortunately Candy understood exactly what he was about to ask.

"I didn't want you to feel uncomfortable. I wanted to wait until you were ready." She said laughing a little. "Even though I was starting to think you'd never want to tell me."

"This whole time. You knew...How? Did I... accidentally..." Pockets began stammering. He could feel his muscles tightening and threatening to pull him upright. He refused them.

"I wasn't really sure... But I was there. When you fell." She said to him slowly. She didn't want him jumping up and freaking out over this. He was surprisingly calm however. Or maybe he was just struck still. In any case he allowed her to continue. "That place we always used to meet up at. That's where you fell, right off the freeway."

"I survived?" Pockets asked strenuously. His voice was starting to return to it's normal state as his tension slowly subsided. Candy nodded in response to his question.

"You landed in the water beneath the tower and I think that broke your fall, at least a little. I was the only one around at the time and I was scared. There was a lot of blood in the water. I didn't want to call the ambulance 'cause they woulda turned you in to the police after they fixed you up."

"So what did you do?" Pockets asked.

"I pulled you out of the water, of course. It looked like you broke your neck and I honestly didn't think you'd be able to walk anymore. I went to go get some medication for you but when I came back, you were gone."

Pockets started filling in the gaps in her story. He could tell that this happened during the daytime because that was when he first awoke. That must've been the first day he found himself on 99th street, wandering until he came across one of the GGs tags.

"Then what did you do?" He asked curiously, now fully engaged in the story.

"I started looking for you..." She said. "And eventually I found you in that alley. When you saw me, there was this.. fear in your eyes. I could tell you had no idea who I was." Her voice trailed off.

The story fit together perfectly. Pockets had no reason to doubt what she was saying. "So you just played along with it?" Candy nodded. "So you and I... we were..."

"Friends." She smiled.

Pockets suddenly began to realize how obvious it was that she already knew him. At times, he'd begin to suspect it but he always threw that suspicion away. He realized there were a lot of hints he overlooked, whether they were put out there intentionally or not. That was the reason she saved him, the reason she so willingly confided in him, the reason she came to that same spot every evening just to see him. He realized that was why she pulled him into that unexpected hug just earlier the same day. It was awkward for him but for her, it must've been almost natural. Maybe they had something more going than just a "friendship".

"All this time, I waited patiently for your memory to return... So that things could go back to the way they were. It got pretty lonely when..."

"I'm sorry," Pockets said mournfully. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize how selfish it was... to keep something like that to myself."

"It's okay... You didn't know."

There was a long pause between them. As they laid there, a flock of birds passed overhead in their traditional V formation.

"...So you can tell me..." Pockets mumbled. "...Who I am?"

Candy got up and dusted herself off before offering Pockets a hand. "C'mon," She urged, "There's something I have to show you."

He smiled as he took her hand.


	17. I Like It Like This

Candy landed on a particular building and stopped, checking her surroundings.

"What's happenin'?" Pockets asked looking around too.

"Nothing. We're here." She explained. Pockets was confused but he didn't let Candy know. He just watched her as she strolled over to a specific edge of the building and jumped off. His face twisted in surprise but he relaxed when he heard Candy's voice. "You comin'?"

"Uh-yeah!" He skated over to the edge and peered over it cautiously. There was a balcony only a few feet below, which explains how Candy survived the 'fall'. He jumped down after her but now they were stuck outside of somebody's apartment window. The last thing he needed was to be mistaken for a burglar and chased off of a 50th floor window by some old guy with a rifle. "What now?" He asked impatiently.

Candy responded by sliding open the glass door and walking inside. "Come in," She insisted.

"This is yours!?"

"Not technically." Pockets walked inside, stepping on the tan colored carpet. The place was huge. It was one of those expensive penthouse apartments but it didn't look as though because it was mostly unfurnished. He found that they were in a living room area with two white sofas facing towards a large flatscreen TV mounted on the wall. The carpet stopped outside of the small area and was replaced by a mahogany wood flooring that the kitchen and dining room were situated on top of.

"You had all this..." Pockets stated slowly, his words drawn out as he scanned the place. "...And you slept outside with me? If I was in your position, I'm not sure I would've done the same." He laughed a little to let her know he wasn't serious. She just pushed him playfully.

"Take your skates off." She said. "I don't want you marking up the floor with those wheels."

"How'd you afford all this?" He asked, sitting on the sofa's armrest so he could unstrap the boots.

"I didn't buy this." She said removing her skates also. "The building's elevator doesn't work and the stairs don't come up to the top floor. No one can get up here except for us. The owner hasn't made repairs in three years and I hope he never does."

"Wow, that's lucky." Pockets stated as he pulled his foot out so that he was only wearing socks but he took them off too. He stared at his feet as if he had never seen them before. Candy was sitting lazily on the sofa, staring at the ceiling. She glanced over at the clock.

"Damn!" She yelped suddenly, making Pockets look up.

"What!?" He asked.

"Oh, I'm just a little late for work. I gotta go get ready to leave." She hopped up off the sofa In just her pink and white striped socks and darted off past the kitchen and into a hallway with two doors on either side. A few seconds later she could hear water running in what he assumed was the bathroom.

Pockets reclined on the couch and looked at the black TV screen, then at the remote that sat on the floor. He picked it up and hit the power button which turned the TV on. It was set on the news channel already. One of the broadcasters could be heard spewing information on some event he didn't really care much about.

He felt like he should be happy but he couldn't. At this point, he could care less about the GGs. He did feel bad that most of them were in jail and that Yoyo, Ryth, and Gum were all on their own now, but he had other things on his mind. He wanted to know more about himself and his past now that Candy gave him a little taste. It felt like she just stopped in the middle. He figured he'd just ask her about it when she got out of the shower or when she got off her job, whatever it was.

The splashing sound of running water suddenly stopped. The television was the only sound throughout the whole apartment now. The reporter on screen announced that 'almost half of the rudies that plagued Tokyo are now incarcerated'. Pockets flipped through the channels, stopping when he found an old cartoon and started watching. No sooner did Candy emerge from her room, hastily dressed and seemingly in a hurry.

"There's food in the fridge if you're hungry," She stated as she walked past him and over to the window that was now the main entrance. Pockets looked over at her. He noticed her hair wasn't tied up in her trademark pigtails. It was straight and still a little wet. "I'll be back around 7:00." After that, she opened the door and prepared to head out.

"Wait." Pockets demanded. She stopped and looked at him inquisitively. "How do you get down, without your skates?" He asked.

"I just go down the fire escape. Don't worry I do this all the time." She smiled confidently at him before walking out out onto the balcony and climbing down a ladder that hung from the side. Pockets couldn't believe how lucky she was to have this whole system worked out so she could live her life almost normally, despite the fact that she was a rudie like him.

Starting to get bored, Pockets got up from the couch and began wandering around. He quickly discovered that the apartment wasn't as big as he initially thought. Or maybe it was the initial shock of finding the place made it seem bigger than it was. Just after passing the by the kitchen and dining room, he was confronted by the hallway that branched into two rooms. He shuffled down the hallway, letting his feet dragged as he walked.

He stopped in front of the door to Candy's room and, for a second, pondered on whether to enter or not. He decided not to. She may have had private things she didn't want him to see. Instead he turned towards the other room and entered without giving it much thought. It was as large as he expected. It looked capable of holding two beds but it only had one bed draped in teal sheets placed to one side of the room, leaving a strange emptiness where the other should be. Next to the bed was a nightstand with a small lamp and an old radio that looked as if it didn't work at all, making it stand out against the other furnishings. Located on the wall opposite of the bed was a large dresser and next to it was an even larger closet. The door to the bathroom remained closed on the far side of the gap from the single bed.

Pockets explored the room, clinging to the white-colored walls. He plopped down on the bed, subconsciously claiming it as his own. It was comfortable, exceptionally so. He turned over on his back thinking about how it felt so much better than those rusty old stairs. He began wondering if it would've been better to just sleep on the ground like everybody else. He reached over and turned on the radio, which was ironically already tuned to Jet Set Radio, and dosed off to the familiar sound of _Sweet Soul Brother_.

…

"Pockets!?" Candy cried out as she returned home. The boy was nowhere to be seen. She sighed deeply, seeing the TV was on despite the fact that no one was watching it. She turned it off though it didn't really matter. After all, she wasn't paying the electric bills. She searched around for a bit to make sure he didn't just leave and eventually she came across the open door to the room that belonged to no one. She walked cautiously inside, immediately spotting the figure of a boy sprawled out on the bed. He, apparently, didn't bother pulling himself under the sheets nor taking his clothes off. Candy assumed he must've been really tired. "Pockets?" She asked again, softer this time. She saw his eyes open, then he yawned loudly.

"You're back?" He asked as he pulled himself upright into a sitting position. He looked around and started to get up off the bed. "Oh, I'm not supposed to be sleeping here. Sorry, I-"

"No, it's alright." Candy assured him. He laid back down on the bed, with her sitting next to him. A long silence passed, in which Pockets almost fell asleep multiple times but he fought to stay awake. DJ Professor K's voice droned almost inaudibly in the background. "Do you remember _anything_?" She asked. Pockets shook his head slowly.

Candy looked down at him sympathetically. His eyes were closed and his breathing slowed. He was already asleep. "Don't you know how to use a bed?" She asked rhetorically as she got up off of the bed and peeled the sheets back so that she could pull them up over Pockets. She left the room turning off the lights and shutting the door behind her.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Sorry about the long delays between chapters. I had to rewrite this one several times and I had a paper to write for my Lit class. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	18. Better With Time

Pockets shuffled around in the sheets contemptuously as the sun beamed in through a window, trying to find a comfortable position where the brightness didn't penetrate his eyelids. After a few minutes of fruitless repositioning, he gave up and half-crawled, half-fell out of the bed. He walked slowly into the bathroom. Using the facilities was part of his daily routine, but up until now, he had to go in some pretty strange places. When he finished, he walked over to the shower and reached his arm inside to turn on the water. He closed the door and locked it, then began removing his clothes while he waited for the water to warm up.

Out in the dining room, a small radio played, keeping Candy company while she tinkered with a pair of broken skates. She yawned with exhaustion as she drove a screwdriver into one of the wheels and turned it slowly until it wouldn't turn anymore. She set the completed, left skate down and picked up the right one to begin attaching another two wheels to it, as she had done to the previous one.

Pockets cut off the water and stepped out of the shower, grabbing a white towel off of the rack. He dried off quickly, and then wrapped the towel around his waist with his hair still hanging in heavy clumps, burdened by the excess moisture. He picked his clothes up off the floor, exited the bathroom, and continued out into the hallway where he stopped. "Candy," He addressed the girl sitting at the table with various tools in her hand. She looked up with a surprised expression.

"Yes?" She asked.

"What should I do with my clothes?" Pockets asked, holding out the balled up garments. Candy stared at the clothes, then at him.

"Just leave them there," She said, "I'll get them later. You can wear whatever you find in that room."

"Okay," He replied, sliding back into the room and closing the door again.

Candy sighed with relief and resumed her work, attaching the final wheel to the freshly redesigned skates. Once it was all put together, she stopped to admire her work. It was far from what any professional engineer would put out on the market but, considering the modifications were made in only a few hours, it was a pretty good job.

Pockets emerged a little while later, wearing a gray and black striped polo shirt with his signature dark-denim colored jeans. He dragged himself into the dining room where Candy stood with her hands behind her back. "What's goin' on?" He asked.

"I have a surprise for you," She responded with a smile on her face.

"What kind of surprise?"

"Ta-da!" She sang, revealing to him a pair of black skates that appeared to be brand new.

"Whose are those?"

"Yours."

"Mine!?"

Candy nodded and handed the skates to him. Pockets was speechless. All the cuts and scratches on the skates had been erased by a new paint job. He noticed the small jets attached to both sides of each back wheel. "This is amazing..." Pockets managed to say. "How long did it take you? You musta been up all night."

"Nah," she said, "I got up early this morning... And I was bored..." She noticed him staring at her and looked back at him silently. Neither of them passed a word for almost a minute until Pockets looked away. He carried himself and the skates over to the couch and dropped them, recklessly. "What's wrong?" Candy inquired.

"Nothing," He replied, falling back onto the couch. Candy decided not to pry this time. She just watched as he stared at the ceiling as though he was waiting for it to change colors. He suddenly reached down and picked up one of the skates, looking over it in detail. "Did you hear about the deathball tournament that was supposed to be today?"

"Yeah, I did." Candy said, crossing her arms attentively. "You're going to ask me if I wanted to enter with you, huh?"

"Nah, I was gonna ask you if you wanted to see it with me," Pockets said. "I just wanna watch."

"You just wanna watch...?" Candy repeated after him, expecting no answer. "Where's the fun in that?"

"I just wanna see who shows up, ya know," Pockets tried to explain, but Candy wasn't catching on. He exhaled slowly. "Do you wanna go?"

"Are you trying to ask me out on a date?" Candy accused with no hint of surprise in her voice. She stood with her arms crossed and waited a few seconds while Pockets formulated an answer.

"Not like that," he finally said. "I just don't wanna go alone."

"Alright I'll go..." She said taking a dramatic pause. "But on one condition."

Pockets rolled his head to face her. "And what would that be?" He asked painfully.

"Only if you enter the tournament with me," Candy proposed with a expressive smile. "There's no way I'm going just to watch."

"Never mind, then. I'll go alone." Pockets spoke decisively and turning back to gaze at the ceiling.

"C'mon," She urged, dropping her dignified stance. "I was just kidding. I'll go with you."

Pockets chuckled to himself. "If you really want to come, then I suppose I'll let you accompany me." He said presumptuously. Candy crossed her arms again.

"Don't get all arrogant now," she said. "I can still change my mind... What time is the tournament supposed to start, anyway?"

"At three o' clock, I think."

"...And what time is it now?"

"I dunno, I just woke up," Pockets said, too lazy to get up and check. Candy gave him the 'you're useless' look and then turned to check the time on the radio that sat on the dining room table.

"It's already one thirty. If we wanna make it on time, we should probably get goin'." Neither of them moved.

"...Then what are you waiting for?" Pockets asked.

"I'm waiting for you!" Candy responded with her voice raised slightly. "Just meet me on the rooftop." She walked over to the glass door where her skates lay, carefully pulling them on over her feet. She stood up and started to head outside when Pockets stopped her.

"Wait," He said suddenly. "Do you have any shoes?"

"Uh, there should be some your size in the closet in that room. Why'd you ask?"

"'Cause I wanna walk..."

…

Pockets joined Candy on the balcony outside of the top-floor apartment, wearing a pair of black shoes he found. On his back was a white string bag carrying his skates.

"...Ready when you are." Candy said, leaning her back against the balcony railing. She carried her skates in a bag on her back as well, deciding that she would walk with Pockets.

Pockets looked out over the city below, noting that Candy must've liked high places. "I'm ready," He said.

"Cool, just follow me." Candy turned and hopped over the rail onto the fire escape. Pockets followed closely behind her. As they made their way downward, neither of them spoke. Possibly out of some primordial fear of heights.

One after another, they dropped down off of the ladder of the fire escape. From there they filed out of the small alleyway and out onto the sidewalk of one of the Skyscraper District's main streets. Pockets stopped, letting Candy take the lead, and made sure to follow close behind her. It was easy to get lost among the large crowds of people. He was used to everyone scattering when he came through, but it was nice to be just one of the many.

Candy dropped back a few steps so Pockets could catch up. She had something to ask him. "So what made you wanna walk? I woulda thought you would wanna skate, you seem to enjoy it so much."

"It's about all I got now," Pockets replied. He folded his arms comfortably behind his head, brushing his elbows against the people next to him in the process. They gave him irritated looks and scooted away. "People are so nosy," He observed.

Candy laughed saying, "You're just now findin' out?"

"Especially you," He said in a joking tone, letting a smile creep up on his face but it quickly faded with the silence. "Don't you ever get tired of skating?"

"I do, but, like you said, It's all I have. It is kinda nice to actually walk somewhere for once, though."

* * *

Yes, I know it's been over a month since I last updated and I apologize. I needed a break and I took one, but I'm back. Chapters will probably 2 weeks apart now since the first semester is almost over and I have finals to worry about. Thanks for reading everyone, I really appreciate it.


	19. Behind Schedule

The old Rokkaku Expo stadium had been finally finished and renamed the Miyamoto Expo Stadium, in honor of the rich entrepreneur with enough money to continue funding the project. No one knows who exactly Mr. Miyamoto. In fact, a lot of the spectators for the grand opening deathball tournament where eagerly awaiting Mr. Miyamoto's appearance to cut the ribbon and officially open the stadium.

Loud music was playing in preparation for the event courtesy of Jet Set Radio Future. Citizens and rudies alike were lined up outside of the stadium, some of which who arrived several days in advance to preserve their spots in line. The clock tower in Shibuya terminal showed the time was around 2 o' clock, only minutes before the grand opening.

Candy and Pockets arrived only a few minutes later to find a line of over 1,000 people waiting for them. Disdainfully, they secured their place at the back of the line.

"Imma put my skates on," Pockets said removing his white bag and placing it on the ground. He stretched it open and removed the shiny black skates inside, staring at them for a moment, then placing them on the dirty ground reluctantly. He took off his shoes and stuffed them in the bag in place of his skates and pulled the strings so it would close. He moved his foot inside the skate cautiously, as if they were brand new shoes.

He stood up again, now a few inches taller, and began rolling unconsciously forward. His momentum carried him into the man standing in front of him, who turned around with a scornful look on his face. He stood at about the same height as Pockets without the aid of skates, making him pretty tall and he was muscular, too. "Watch where you're goin', asshole!" He yelled at the surprised Pockets.

"Fuck you." Was his simple response. The man spat on Pockets' skates showing his hatred towards the rudie. This almost sent Pockets over the edge but Candy stopped him before he could do anything stupid.

"Pockets," She said in a really calm voice and grabbing the wrist of his balled fist.

"He spat on my skates!" Pockets said, trying to persuade Candy that this _pedestrian_ needed to be dealt with violently.

"It's not worth it." She reasoned.

"You just cleaned these." He pointed at the skate that was extra shiny on one part.

"Then let _me_ be angry about it." Candy spoke calmly but firmly until Pockets' anger finally subsided and when it did, she bent down and grabbing her tan shirt to wipe away the spit.

"Don't," Pockets stopped her before she wiped it. "I got it," He said. He knelt down and wiped away the spit with his bare hand and then dried it off on the back of the man's shirt, despite Candy's advise to leave him alone. He turned around once more.

"Quit pushing! Are you retarded?" He yelled furiously. Pockets gave him no response, only a blank face. When the man faced back forward, Pockets turned and gave Candy a childish grin. She just stared at him with a disappointed look that quickly turned to a smile.

"That was kinda nasty." She said.

"I know." Pockets responded.

…

The short arm on the face of Shibuya Terminal's clock tower was slowly approaching the number three. It was already time for the grand opening of the Miyamoto Expo Stadium. In front of the long line of eager people was Mr. Miyamoto who frequently checked his watch to make sure he was on time. In his hand he held a pair of large scissors with red handles, the same ones he would use to cut the red ribbon.

Mr. Miyamoto checked his watch one final time and raised the sharp end of the scissors so that they were poised to snip the ribbon in half. The crowd cheered in anticipation for they knew the grand opening wasn't far, now. The music playing over the loudspeakers place on the outside, and inside, of the stadium dimmed to make way for the voice of DJ Professor K himself.

"_Alright y'all, this is it. The moment that everybody and they girlfriend's been waitin' for. And here to host the Miyamoto Expo Stadium's Grand Opening Deathball Tournament, sponsored by Sega, is yours truly, DJ Professor K! Now we only got a few seconds left before that clock strikes 3:00 and I'm gonna count 'em down. Count with me y'all! 30...!"_

"29... 28... 27...!" Everyone in the crowd chimed in on DJ Professor K's cue, counting down the final seconds before the Miyamoto Expo Stadium would finally open. Mr. Miyamoto himself was counting along with them, teasing the red ribbon with the blade of the scissors.

Even Candy was counting along with them. A little more silently but counting, nonetheless. Pockets saw nothing wrong with it, so he joined in too.

"10... 9... 8...!" By this time, everyone was getting louder and louder as they approached 0. The tension in the air was growing heavy with every passing second.

"5... 4... 3... 2... 1...!" For a second everyone stopped. They were waiting for the familiar gong of the Shibuya Terminal Clock Tower to end the countdown for them. And it did. As it gonged everyone yelled out "Zero" simultaneously. Clapping and cheering followed as Mr. Miyamoto snipped the ribbon and stepped aside to avoid being crushed by the crowd.

…

No more than a mile a way, Ryth and Yoyo struggled to carry the injured Gum to the Expo Stadium. Each of them carried one of her arms over their shoulder, taking the wait off of Gum's possibly broken leg.

"Yo, how you holdin' up, Gum?" Yoyo asked. His voice sounded a bit strained.

"I'm fine..." She responded in a plain voice, ignoring the pain that shot up her leg with every step she attempted to take. Her head hung shamefully as she realized how much of a burden she had become.

"It's already like three thirty," Ryth complained. "We're already too late." Yoyo grunted in disbelief. "And I can't do this much longer. I'm so tired."

"We're almost there, yo. Look, that's Benten Tower," Yoyo said, freeing one hand to point at a large purple thing in the distance. It was only then that he realized how truly far away it was. He let his hand drop saying, "This was a bad idea."

"Let's take a rest," Ryth suggested. Yoyo complied silently and proceeded to sit Gum down, but made sure to support her leg. The three of them sat around idly, wasting time. Each one of them wondering if they should turn back but they were probably closer to the stadium than they were to the garage at this point.

For the moment they just sat around thinking. Ryth was lying her back breathing heavily. Gum sat wordlessly, massaging her leg. Yoyo was busy coming up with ideas. He turned his thoughts to the radio on his wrist and stared at it for a second. He brought it closer to his face and started turning one of the small dials on the side with his fingers.

"What are you doing?" Ryth asked.

"I'm trying to find the right frequency so I can contact Pockets, yo." Yoyo explained without taking a second to look away from the radio device.

"Why are you trying to contact him? He abandoned us!" Gum said arrogantly.

"Don't act like it wasn't your fault!" Yoyo shouted back. "he left because he thought he was just dead weight, but look who has to be carried around everywhere!" Ryth poked in and tried to stop the quarrel between them but she was ultimately unsuccessful.

"He left because he was a coward." Gum retorted. "I told him the truth and he didn't wanna hear it, so he ran off like a little bitch instead of trying to make shit better!"

"Shut up! Just shut the fuck up, Gum! _I'm_ doing this." After this, Gum was silent but she had a vile look upon her face. She knew better than to push Yoyo in her current condition. Yoyo resumed tinkering with the radio but to no avail. He couldn't find the frequency.

"How do you know Pockets will respond?" Ryth asked.

"I seen Corn give him one of these before all this happened-"

"It's _saw_ not _seen_." Gum interrupted, resorting to the childish technique of correcting other's minor grammatical errors in order to irritate them. Yoyo gave her no response, though it did bother him.

"I think this is it, yo!" Yoyo said triumphantly. A hopeful smile grew on Ryth's face but faded quickly. Yoyo brought the device to his face and began speaking into it. "Yo, Pockets. This is Yoyo... Uhh... Me and Ryth and Gum really need your help, yo. Look, yo, if you still mad about what happened a few days ago... Gum said she was sorry. But, we need your help right now, so please... radio back if you hear this, yo. Please."

"Please!" Ryth added just before Yoyo let go of the button to end the transmission. They looked around for a moment. "What now?" Ryth asked.

"We wait, yo."

* * *

**Author's Note**: If this chapter seems a bit rushed, thats because it us. If not, then I guess I did a good job but it shouldn't have taken me this long. I'm getting started on chapter 20 now so I can get ahead.


	20. About Time

After finally gaining entrance into the Expo Stadium, Candy and Pockets shuffled through the crowd trying to find an empty space in the newly finished bleachers surrounding the large track. The place was packed with deathball fans who had already claimed the best seats. Candy and Pockets were forced to sit in the higher rows where they could barely see and couldn't hear anything but the music playing over the loudspeakers.

Pockets took a seat on the, less than comfortable, orange bleachers next to Candy and for the next few minutes they sat, patiently waiting for the event to start. Candy reclined, resting on the empty seats behind her. "How long do you think this is gonna take?" She asked, growing more impatient with every passing minute.

"I don't know..." Pockets replied slowly.

Candy continued to complain, "Well it's getting boring. I didn't know it would take this long. It was supposed to start like an hour ago."

"They gotta set up and all that stuff," Pockets explained. "You know how it is."

"So you're sayin' you're not bored of just sitting here?"

Pockets didn't respond. They fell back into silence and it remained so until the music dimmed and DJ Professor K's voice came over the loudspeakers for a second time.

"_Alright now, It's finally time to get things rollin' in here. So for those of y'all who ain't never played deathball before, let me explain the rules. Two teams of two players each race for a yellow ball placed somewhere on the track. The team that gets to the ball first must pick it up and complete an entire lap without letting it hit the ground or getting it stolen by the other team. Passing the ball is allowed, just make sure your teammate will catch it. Oh, and tackling, hitting, punching, kicking, all that stuff is allowed. If that ain't yo cup of tea, there be an exit near yo position."_

No one got up. In fact, everyone in the stadium seemed to lean forward in anticipation.

"_Good, now that we got that out of the way, we can get this party started!"_

Loud cheering and screaming.

"_Alright listen up! Our first competitors comin' out today are Rapid 99!"_

More loud cheering and screaming. Pockets leaned forward in his seat, suddenly more interested.

"_And going up against them are the Immortals! What a matchup in the first round! I mean, who woulda thought we'd get to see two of our favorites open up the show for us?"_

Both teams entered the stadium, moving to the starting line. People were practically going crazy but who could blame them? They were pretty much starved of entertainment like this ever since Rokkaku got into office. Most of them probably thought they'd never hear about these "rudies" outside of DJ Professor K's Broadcasts.

Pockets looked at the members of Rapid 99 hard. He recognized one of them from that night. All the memories of Yoyo and the GGs flooded into to his head at an overwhelming pace. He tried his hardest to block them out and just enjoy the show.

Both Rapid 99 and The Immortals, looking ugly as ever, had determined looks upon their faces. Several large scoreboards located all around the stadium simultaneously counted down to the beginning of the first round. With a loud horn, both teams boosted off to a start.

Rapid 99 took the early lead and ultimately, they reached the ball first. The one in the lead bent down and expertly scooped up the yellow oval that was the deathball without losing any of her momentum. The Immortals trailed just behind them but out of reach. The first turn came and the Immortals had a little trick up their sleeve. With a sudden burst of speed, one dashed at the ball carrier, knocking her over. She fell to the ground as her teammate pulled a hasty U-turn to help her out.

The Immortals wrestled the ball away from the fallen Rapid 99 and sprinted off past the second to complete the lap. Now, Rapid 99 was trailing and the Immortals were getting a bit cocky. They passed the ball back and forth between each other, spinning around as they caught it. The second turn came and they rounded it with ease, weaving between the orange gates set up as obstacles.

Rapid 99 were closing the distance between them but at the rate they were going, the Immortals would complete the lap before they could ever catch up. It was looking to be a one-sided battle with the Immortals in the lead. The Immortals put the ramps set up along the sides of the track to use, pulling off a trick here and there for the sake of their fans.

Just as they passed the starting line one of the Rapid 99 came up behind the ball carrier and kicked his skates out from under him, sacrificing herself in the process. Just before he went down, the ball carrier threw the ball up into the air in a desperate attempt to keep their lap from resetting. However, it went straight up and down. His teammate, unaware of what happened, kept skating forward only to realize they were on defense when Rapid 99 passed him with the ball.

The Immortals struggled to keep up but it was of no use. Rapid 99 seemed to have endless energy and just kept skating at a controlled pace, showing no signs of slowing down. They continued the rest of the lap without conflict, performing tricks for their fans just as the Immortals did. From the crowd's reaction, it was easy to tell that Rapid 99 was the favorite among most of them.

A little over thirty minutes from when the match started, it ended. Rapid 99 completed an entire lap without dropping the ball or having it get stolen from them. The audience burst into applause and excited screaming.

"_Whooo! That's gotta be match of the century, baby! And looks like the Immortals are out in the first round. Too bad suckas! On the other hand, Rapid 99 just showed us that they ain't here to play. The first victory goes out to the queens of 99th street! Show some love!"_

Pockets fell back in his seat now that it was finally over, looking over at Candy who was equally as tense. He stared at her until she looked back at him, and then he laughed.

"What?" Candy asked, laughing a little herself.

"Nothin'," Pockets replied as he gathered himself and wiped the grin off of his face. It was right then that he heard an odd noise coming from his wrist. He was surprised he could hear anything over the yelling and screaming as Rapid 99 accepted their victory. It was his radio. He was receiving a message.

He brought the device to his ear listening to the message. It said, "...Uhh... Me and Rhyth and Gum really need your help, yo... Look, yo, if you still mad about what happened a few days ago... Gum said she was sorry. But, we really need your help right now, so please... radio back if you hear this, yo. Please... Plea-" And then it just cut off mid-sentence.

His first thought was to ignore it. He wanted just to stay there with Candy where he had nothing to worry about but the message sounded urgent. In the end, he decided to at least find out what was happening to them. He opened up the bag he brought with him and dumped the skates onto the floor, then started hastily removing his shoes. Candy eyed him suspiciously and asked, "What are you doing?"

Pockets looked up for a second, then went back to work shoving his feet into his skates. "I'm going somewhere. Stay here I'll be right back," He said. After he finished, he stood up and started hastily making his way to the exit without speaking another word.


	21. A Day and a Half

They all sat around awkwardly waiting. Yoyo was losing patience with Gum, Gum was angry at Yoyo, and Rhyth was caught in the crossfire. So they sat around silently.

Just a few minutes before, Yoyo received a response from Pockets asking where they were. That brought a bit of hope back to him. He didn't quite explain his situation though, and worried that Pockets might have mistaken it for something far more serious. Bottom line: they were all tired and thirsty and needed some help. That seemed like a good enough reason call for assistance.

Rhyth kept her eyes on Gum who was fiddling with the shirt tied around her knee. The girl winced in pain every time she attempted to move it. Rhyth felt sorry for her. She inched a little closer and Gum looked up. "Is it all right?" Rhyth asked.

"No it's not." Gum replied simply. This kind of answer was expected. Rhyth knelt down next to her and examined her leg in detail. It didn't look misshapen. If anything, all the bones were in the right place. Rhyth told herself it was just a crack and not something more serious, like a fracture.

She glanced up at Yoyo. The kid was crouched in the middle of the street staring at something distant. His head didn't move from that single spot. He didn't look like himself. He didn't look mad, he looked lost. He had nothing to look to so he found a spot and stared, probably lost in thought. Rhyth stood up and approached Yoyo and, unlike Gum, he didn't come out of his trance when she came near. He continued to stare almost hopefully at that same spot down the road. It was nothing short of creepy.

"What's happening, yo?" He asked with a worried tone, as if he was just hit with the full weight of the situation. "What's happening to us?" He repeated.

"I knew this would come." Rhyth spoke solemnly and slowly so that Yoyo could understand in his trance-like state. "I knew we had it too good for way too long and it had to end eventually. That's how it always is. Whenever things are going right, you forget about how they can go wrong."

"But why us, yo? Why doesn't something like this happen to somebody else!?"

Rhyth could sense a bit of anger creeping into his voice and attempted to squash it. "Are you mad?" She asked in a calming voice.

"Yeah!" He said with a sudden burst of energy. "I'm mad, and I'm frustrated, and I'm pissed off, and I don't know what the fuck I'm s'pposed to do! Yeah, Pockets is comin' to help us but then what? We back where we started, yo. We ain't get nowhere! We..." Yoyo stopped himself, he realized he was probably upsetting Rhyth but he didn't check to see her expression. He took a deep breath and kept his eyes locked on that spot.

Rhyth wrapped her arms around the guy who seemed half the size he was a few hours ago. She knew the world was closing in on him. "Not now." She whispered. It was enough. He understood.

Gum looked over from where she sat, alone. Yoyo was lucky. At a time like this, he had someone to hold. He had someone who would be there for him no matter what happened. She had no such friends anymore. She never did. Everyone thought she was just some snobbish, bitter girl who hated the world but she wasn't. She had an issue with trusting people. She had been betrayed so many time before, she often labeled people enemies before she got to know them.

Corn was the only one who understood her. Even though she didn't trust him fully, he trusted her. Corn never questioned her at all and because of that, they were able to have a relationship.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of wheels turning in the distance. Unmistakably someone was skating towards them. She could make out a figure that confirmed her suspicions. It was none other than Pockets.

He slowed down as he got closer to find out what was going on. They didn't look to be in a dire situation. Gum was off in her own little corner of the world and Rhyth was crouched down, holding Yoyo. Typical. "What's wrong?" He asked any of them. Yoyo didn't respond so Rhyth spoke for him.

"We're stuck here," she began explaining. "Gum's leg is hurt and she can't walk and we're too tired to carry her anymore."

"So what did you want me to do?" Pockets asked reluctantly.

"I know you guys aren't on good terms but could you please help us carry her?"

Rhyth had a pitiful look on her face. Pockets really wanted to refuse and not get involved but he had already came all the way there. He looked at Yoyo who's head was now hanging almost lifelessly from his shoulders. He let out a painful sigh and said, "Alright".

"You know how you could really help?" Gum butted in.

Pockets took the bait, just to see how this would play out. "How?"

"You could get our friends back from the fuckin' Hell Blazers."

"You want me to carry you or not?" He asked with a definitive tone, one he rarely used. Gum said nothing after that. He took her silence as a "yes" and proceeded to help her but he was interrupted when he heard a voice call his name.

"Pockets what's going on?" It was Candy. Pockets expected her to be pretty mad but her voice didn't reflect that. She sounded confused, maybe worried.

He turned around cautiously, preparing an explanation but it was pointless. He figured she probably wouldn't understand. "How did you get here?" He asked.

"I followed you."

"But I told you to stay there..."

"And you thought I would listen?" Candy asked with her arms crossed. "What did you expect me to do? Just wait around while you did...whatever." She took a quick scan to find out what was going on. She started to say something but stopped for some reason. Instead, she grabbed Pockets' arm and escorted him a few feet away where they could talk in private. "What's _really_ going on," she asked in a hushed voice.

"They needed help, I couldn't just leave them here," Pockets explained.

"But you could've at least told me where you were going, or what you were doing."

Pockets looked down and noticed Candy wasn't wearing her skates. She ran the entire way. "I'm sorry. I didn't want you to get involved in this. It really isn't that important. I'm just gonna help them get back to where they're going, she has a broken leg," He said signaling at Gum. "I need you to trust me though, I'll be back tomorrow." He put his hands on her shoulders and said, "Please" in a very sincere voice.

"Okay," Candy responded sounding a little unsure of herself. Pockets removed his hands from her shoulders, freeing her to leave. She gave him a quick hug before turning around and walking back the way she came, hoping she remembered how to get back to the stadium.

_**...**_

The Sun was setting quickly and, at the moment, none of them wanted to walk in the dark. Pockets was carrying Gum the way a mother would carry a child: with one hand behind her knees and the other behind her neck. Yoyo and Rhyth trailed behind him, pushing themselves to the point of exhaustion. None of them had eaten in days and had nothing to fuel them. Pockets was getting impatient.

"Do you guys even know where you're going?" he asked with an irritated tone.

"Yeah," Yoyo said. "We came through there." He pointed to the right but Pockets questioned his judgment. He was tired and kind of out of it. Furthermore, all the streets looked the same: stagnant and abandoned. They hadn't seen a single car pass by since they left the Garage. In any case, Pockets turned as Yoyo instructed.

Gum, who had been silent for well over a few hours finally decided to speak. She looked up at Pockets and asked, "Who was that girl?"

Pockets looked down at her, slightly surprised. Her voiced lacked that harsh tone she usually spoke with. It was more calm. "Uh, she's my friend I guess. Why?"

"I thought I recognized her..." She turned back ahead. "... Shit, if I could walk I woulda left too."

"What about Yoyo and Rhyth?" He asked making sure he was quiet enough that they couldn't hear him.

"They don't need me."

"They care about you."

"They cared about you," Gum retorted. "But it's okay for you to leave and not me, right?"

"I had reasons," Pockets said without going into too much detail.

"Like what? And don't say it was because of me. I know what I said didn't make _that_ much of a difference to you."

"What if it did...?"

"Make a left right here," Yoyo broke in conveniently as they approached a three-way intersection. "We should be right up the street from Dogenzaka."

That was good news. Pockets followed his directions. He could here the distant sound of automobiles going up and down the street. He just hoped they weren't on the other side of Tokyo-to, his legs were getting numb and his arms were stiff.

The sky was steadily turning from a faded orange to black. It reminded him of those first few days he spent with the GG's. There were no GG's anymore, though. They disappeared and left a group of stray rudies in their wake.


	22. Like Grapefruits

Pockets laid Gum down on the red couch that used to belong exclusively to Corn. The girl winced as her injured leg pressed against the cushions. Slowly, she relaxed her leg and the pain eased away. Pockets stood up and stretched his stiff muscles. He didn't have much upper body strength to begin with, his arms would probably sore for the next few days. He arched his back and he could hear his spine crackle as he did.

Gum leaned her head to face Pockets and said, "Hey. thanks."

Pockets glanced back at her and for a split second, they made eye contact but it was quickly broken. He fell onto back into the chair next to the couch and responded, "Alright..."

"I wanted to ask you something," Gum requested permission to ask.

"Okay..." Pockets thought it was strange of her to dance around a question like she was doing. It had to be something important.

"Where'd you go?" Pockets answered with silence.. This only seemed to annoy Gum. "I know this has something to do with that girl. Why don't you just tell me?"

"'Cause it's my business."

"Then could you at least tell me her name?"

"It's Candy."

"I knew it. I knew I recognized her."

"What do you mean 'you knew it'?" Pockets asked in a surprised voice. "Do you know her?"

"Yeah I know her. What I want to know is what you have to do with her." Gum spoke in a demanding tone now.

"Do you have something against her?" Pockets asked, sensing the tension in Gum's voice. He wasn't even looking at her and he could tell she was glaring at him now.

"Candy is a liar. She's deceitful and I wouldn't trust her."

"What do you have against her?" Pockets repeated, ignoring what he hoped was just Gum's blind aggression towards Candy.

"Nothing... But if Corn was here, I'm sure he'd say something different." Gum stated with, what sounded like, a frown on her face. Pockets didn't want to know what Corn would say. Partially because he felt it was invading Corn's privacy but mostly he wanted to uphold the positive image he had of Corn. Besides, he doubted Gum would tell him even if he asked. "Could you turn the T.V. On for me," Gum said, breaking the silence.

"Sure." Pockets lifted himself off of the couch and walked over to the television set, inspecting it. After a second he found the power button and pressed it but nothing but static came through. He shrugged helplessly in Gum's direction.

"Can you fix it?" Gum asked. Feeling as though he was being taken advantage of, Pockets turned back around and proceeded to bang on the top of the television with his wrist. "Hitting it is not goin' to help," She explained.

"Well what do you want me to do?" Pockets asked with more than a little frustration creeping into his voice. Gum looked around.

"You could get Rhyth," Gum suggested. "She knows how to fix it." Pockets gave a heavy sigh and rolled over to the stairs to retrieve Rhyth.

He made his way over to the small dog house where Gum and Rhyth lay next to each other. The little dog Pots looked happy so them. He was resting between them with his head lying on Rhyth's stomach. She picked up the gray dog and stroked his head gently. As she held him, she realized Pots had lost a little weight.

Yoyo was laying face up next to the doghouse. He seemed to be staring up at the stars but none were visible. It was a very cloudy night. He was wondering if Yoyo was feeling alright, but he didn't ask. Better not to trouble them.

"Gum says you know how to fix the T.V.," was all Pockets needed to say before Rhyth got up. She followed him back upstairs to where the buzzing television was. She looked it over for a second, then smacked the side of the box making the image return. Pockets threw his hands in defeat.

"There you go," Rhyth said rolling away.

"You said that wouldn't work." Pockets barked at Gum. She just rolled her eyes.

"But you never answered my question," Gum persisted. "Why did you leave that day?"

"Why are you so worried about it?" Pockets shot back defensively. "Can't you worry about Yoyo instead."

"Yoyo's fine. He's just on his period. The mood swings should end shortly." Pockets hoped she was joking. Gum hopped right back on subject. "You know I'm gonna keep asking until I get an answer."

"I left because I felt like it." Pockets responded, hoping it would at least get Gum to stop questioning him. It did buy him a minute or so of silence before she spoke again.

"You know what? I was hoping what I said about you was wrong, but I can't tell because you won't give me a straight answer to a simple question." She let the last sentence hang, giving Pockets a chance to respond but he remained silent. His eyes were fixed lazily on the T.V. Finally, Gum gave up and flipped over so that she faced away from the television and her injured leg rested on top of the other one.

Downstairs, Rhyth returned to Yoyo who was still frozen in that same position she left him in. Pots licked at his face a couple times to cheer him up, but Yoyo just pushed the dog away. Rhyth laid next to Yoyo, pulling Pots off of him and into her arms.

"So what are we going to do tomorrow?" She asked him, trying not to sound too despaired. Yoyo seemed to think about the question for a moment.

"I don't wanna think about it. Let's just go to sleep." He suggested.

"I can't sleep." Rhyth stated quietly.

"Why not?" Yoyo asked, flipping over to face her.

"I don't know. I guess it's the stress." Rhyth didn't seem too worried about what she was saying, as if it was normal. She simply continued to rub Pots head as the dog rested on her stomach.

"it's gonna be okay," Yoyo said in a reassuring voice as he scooted closer to Rhyth. He wasn't sure what he would do to make anything better but he had to tell Rhyth something to calm her nerves. "I'm gonna start looking for a job tomorrow so we can have food to eat. Maybe I could even be able to buy Gum some crutches."

"You don't have to do all this," Rhyth told him as she reached over and grabbed his hand. It was cold.

"We gotta eat," was all he said in response. He was set on helping Rhyth and Gum but he didn't want to have to go back to stealing food. He felt Rhyth squeeze his hand tighter.

"Tai..." Rhyth said in a soft voice. "Thank you." That was all he needed to hear.


End file.
